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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Little Children in the 
Church of Christ 



BY 

REV. CHARLES ROADS 

President of the Pennsylvania C. E. Union 
Author of " Christ Enthroned in the Industrial World 



* 



unity 



BOSTON 
D. LOTHROP COMPANY 

1893 



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3^1 



Copyright, 1893, 

BY 

D. Lothrop Company. 
All rights reserved. 



The Library 
of Congress 



ty&SIUlISGTOI!* 



HfcMtatrir 



TO THE JUNIOR CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR 

SOCIETIES OF THE STATE OF 

PENNSYLVANIA 



"And when the chief priests and scribes saw the 
wonderful things that He did and the children crying in 
the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; 
they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest 
thou what these say ? Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have 
ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings 
Thou hast perfected praise ? " — Matt. xxi. 16. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter 

I. Shall We Have a Religious Meeting 

for the Little Children ? . 
II. The Children's Five-Minute Sermon 

III. Some Impressible Points in the Child 

Mind 

IV. Essentials of a Profitable Talk to 

Children 

V. Objects for Religious Lessons. 

VI. The Blackboard 

VII. Object and Blackboard Combined . 
VIII. The Programme for Meetings . 



Page 



Sketches of Sermons. 

Hooking the Children Away 

The Fruits of the Spirit 

Don't Be a Sponge, Be a Water Lily . 

The Two Ways 

The Money Sermon .... 
The Fence Rails not to be Taken Down 
Hearts and Their Tenants . 
Honor thy Father and thy Mother 



'44 
47 
5° 
5- 
57 
59 
6 1 



CONTENTS. 



Sketches of Sermons. 
The Altar Sermon 
Arch of Character 
Fourth of July .... 
The Vulture Changed into the Lark 
How the Sermon is Received 
Don't Be a Toadstool, Be a Vine . 
Roofing the House 
Common and Pressed Brick . 
Our Declaration of Independence 
Railroad from Heart to Heaven . 
Record of My Life for 1893 . 
The Life of Jesus .... 
The Ship of Life .... 
The Icy Pavement of a Bad Example 
Missionary Lights over the World 
Sin Building a Hornet's Nest 
The Strongest Drink . 
The Clock Sermon 
Jacob's Ladder .... 
Hearts and Lives of Love and of Sin 
Missionary Battle for the World . 
The Sweetest Perfume on the Altar 
The Resurrection of the Body 
Training the Tree .... 
My Sling against Present-Day Giants 
Planting the Christmas-Tree in the Heart 
The Ten Commandments 
The Hands' Sermon 
Your Crown . 
Building My Altar To-day 
Thanksgiving Day 
The Cup Sermon . 
What Comes from the Beer Glass ? 
Easter .... 
What Training Will Do 



CONTENTS. 



Sketches of Sermons. 

Companionship in Home or Saloon 

Faith and Works . 

Ready for Either Altar or Yoke 

Old Rags made White as Snow 

Building the Lighthouse 

That Wonderful Wire, Faith 

How to Make it Rain . 

The Demon Hand of Intemperance 

Three Strange Preachers to Peter 

Solid Shot and Cartridge Box 

How to Hit the Greatest Happiness 

The Manly Boy and the Putty Boy 

Let Me Feel Your Pulse 

The Christian in the Army . 

Is Your Hatchet Nicked or Well Sharpened 

The Christian Soldier . 

The Worst Wasp's Nest — the Saloon 

Show Me Your Tongue ! 

Seeds 

Topics for Original Work . 



164 
168 
170 
l 7Z 

i75 
177 
i79 
1S1 

183 
185 
187 
190 
192 
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197 
199 
202 
205 
208 



LITTLE CHILDREN IN THE 
CHURCH OF CHRIST. 



I. 



SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING FOR 
THE LITTLE CHILDREN ? 

CHRIST'S offer of salvation is really to 
every creature. During his visible so- 
journ among men, he showed the sincerity of 
this offer by graciously receiving every sort of 
man who came, every woman, even the vilest, 
with tender love, and by his extraordinary wel- 
come to the children. Those who stood in the 
way of the approaching child greatly displeased 
him. He thus made Christianity unique, as 
also the religion for the child. The child not 
simply to be one of its subjects, but the typical 
subject. All souls must come to Christ as the 
little child comes. 

This Gospel concerning children has now 
so thoroughly permeated human thoughts and 
feelings that unusual imagination is required 



2 SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING? 

to put ourselves for the moment into the atti- 
tude of some ancient nations regarding the 
child. Yet for a more just appreciation of the 
Gospel let us make the effort. We go to an- 
cient Sparta, the land of Lycurgus and Leoni- 
das, and how we are horrified to find along the 
roadside, or in a clump of bushes, an abandoned 
infant ; another, a little farther on it may be, 
pitifully moaning out its spark of life. No one 
is concerned about it ; and if some one is an- 
noyed, and dashes out the little life, it is as if 
you killed a limping chick on the farm. Pos- 
sibly another is brought while you stand re- 
flecting, and is cast into the same place. Why 
this barbarism in a people otherwise really far 
advanced ? You are told it is the custom and 
law of their civilization that all delicate or de- 
fective infants shall be cast out to perish, to be 
devoured by wild beasts, or to be reared, by any 
one who will, to a life of shame. 

But you say it must be better at Athens. 
Sparta is proverbially cruel, and under a stern 
military system. Athens surely has more hu- 
manity and tenderness. You proceed to the 
city of the greatest intellects of all time, and the 
same heartless practice of " exposure " of cer- 
tain classes of infants prevails. There is a great 
" chasm," according to Plutarch, into which the 



SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING? 3 

condemned innocents are cast. Herod slew a 
few children in Bethlehem, and the world has 
wept with Rachel for eighteen hundred years. 
But Athenian customs out-Herod Herod. 

Worst of all, Plato, in his ideal republic, could 
conceive of nothing better than such a disposi- 
tion of unpromising offspring. And Aristotle 
advocated it. " Let it be the law," he said, 
"that nothing imperfect or maimed shall be 
brought up." Plato's ideal was the entire sun- 
dering of the family tie, and the herding together 
of children under official nurses. 

This was Greece in her loftiest civilization. 
When we go to the Brahmanism of India, what 
horrors of infanticide in the name of religion 
meet us. Rachel weeps at Bethlehem, but the 
gods steel the hearts of Hindu mothers. The 
sacred Ganges has buried more children than 
all the cemeteries of America. The Old Testa- 
ment makes us familiar with Moloch, that hor- 
rible idol into whose iron arms, made red-hot, 
little children were laid in sacrifice, while deaf- 
ening drums drowned their pitiful cries. Girl 
babies in all heathen lands, how unfortunate ! 
Unwelcome when they come, if not murdered 
at birth, how rough and thorny their way ! 

Who does not praise God for the teachings of 
Christ concerning children ? But let us beware 



4 SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING? 

lest we fail to get his full loving purpose con- 
cerning them. The Christian world is yet far 
from looking upon children with the eyes of 
Christ. 

Writing for those who are learning, though 
late, thus to see somewhat with the eyes of 
Christ, we feel the need of a Children's Meeting 
supplementary to the Sunday-school. We have 
nothing but praise for the enthusiastic and 
effective labors of the faithful teachers, now 
the rule in our Sabbath-schools ; and the love 
for Bible study they have patiently developed is 
largely the cause of the present extraordinary 
interest in all Biblical discussions. But the 
Sunday-school is ever a school, with a school 
atmosphere necessarily, and properly, in view 
of the importance of Bible knowledge, and can- 
not, therefore, satisfy the religious needs of the 
child any more fully than those of the adult. 
The Christian father and mother want a prayer 
meeting, a testimony meeting, and preaching ; 
and the peculiar spiritual help which these sup- 
ply, in addition to the best possible Sunday- 
school, is also needed by the child. 

And as an easy transition to church fellow- 
ship, the Children's Meeting has an important 
place. The Catechumen Class of the Lutheran 
and Reformed Churches leading to a decision 



SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING? fj 

to become Christians and to unite with the 
church, is such a meeting, but something like 
it for much younger children is required. The 
Pastoral Lectures given in courses by many 
Presbyterian and Baptist ministers, which are 
evangelistic meetings for the salvation of young 
people, are similar, but also fail to reach down 
far enough. Children under ten years, under 
six years of age — indeed, at two or three, as we 
know by many actual cases — are deeply inter- 
ested in religious instruction, and ought to have 
the very best that our day can furnish. And 
meetings for children ought to be continuous, 
not falling into the mistake so justly criticised 
in Methodist winter revival meetings, that of 
caring little or nothing to save souls the rest of 
the year. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church has prob- 
ably the most advanced provision for children 
of any Protestant church. Though growing 
out of infant baptism, it is not dependent upon 
that, and churches not practicing such baptism 
might adopt its Children's Meeting, as leading 
up to baptism instead of following it. In fact, 
provision is made that children unbaptized shall 
also be admitted. They have equal rights in it 
with the others, and a meeting of this kind in 
a Methodist Church might be held with not a 



6 SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING? 

baptized child in it, if such a Methodist Church 
could be found. 

We give the substance of the Methodist law 
on this subject : * 

"We hold that all children, by virtue of the 
unconditional benefits of the Atonement, are 
members of the kingdom of God, and therefore 
graciously entitled to baptism ; but as infant 
baptism contemplates a course of religious in- 
struction and discipline, it is expected of all 
parents or guardians who present their children 
for baptism that they will use all diligence in 
bringing them up in conformity to the word of 
God ; and they should be solemnly admonished 
of this obligation, and earnestly exhorted to 
faithfulness therein. 

" We regard all children who have been bap- 
tized as placed in visible covenant relation to 
God, and under the special care and supervision 
of the church. 

" The preacher in charge shall organize the 
baptized children of the church, at the age of 
ten years or younger, into classes, and appoint 
suitable leaders (male or female), whose duty it 
shall be to meet them in class once a week and 
instruct them in the nature, design, and obliga- 
tions of baptism, and the truths of religion nec- 

* Methodist Discipline, pp. 37"4 2 - 



SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING i J 

essary to make them wise unto salvation ; urge 
them to give regular attendance upon the means 
of grace ; advise, exhort and encourage them to 
an immediate consecration of their hearts and 
lives to God, and inquire into the state of their 
religious experience ; provided, that children 
unbaptized are not to be excluded from these 
classes. 

" Whenever baptized children shall have at- 
tained an age sufficient to understand the obli- 
gations of religion, and shall give evidence of 
piety, they may be admitted into full member- 
ship in the church, on the recommendation of 
a leader, with whom they have met at least six 
months in class, by publicly assenting before the 
church to the baptismal covenant, and also to 
the usual questions on doctrine and discipline. 

" Whenever a baptized child shall, by orphan- 
age or otherwise, become deprived of Christian 
guardianship, the preacher in charge shall ascer- 
tain, and report to the leaders' and stewards' 
meeting the facts in the case ; and such provi- 
sion shall be made for the Christian training of 
the child as the circumstances of the case ad- 
mit and require." 

This is an admirable care of the children in 
the church. The class, or Children's Meetings 
provided by it, may be held in towns and villages 



8 SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING? 

on Saturday afternoon ; in country places before 
the morning service, and in cities, a forty-min- 
ute service on some week-day, in the church 
after school hours. 

Indeed, with a due sense of the necessity of 
more direct and systematic work for the conver- 
sion and training of children, some time will 
always be found for the little company to 
gather. 

The general church is coming profoundly to 
believe in the reality and power of a child's 
conversion, and in the clearness and joy of his 
salvation. The Children's Meeting is to deal 
specially with this young religious life, and to 
bring the child into actual church fellowship by 
easy stages. The Christian Endeavor and other 
young people's societies are no more useful than 
such a spiritual meeting for the little ones may 
become. 

Under ten years of age life-long impressions 
are unquestionably made. Every adult has 
personal experience of some such impression. 
Shall we not then surround the child with the 
sunniest and most powerful spiritual influence ? 
Moral and mental habits are begun and in build- 
ing. Up with our scaffolding, and see that the 
soul is erected after heavenly drawings and plans. 

Church history teems with the incalculable 



SHALL WE HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING? 9 

value of early conversion and intelligent Chris- 
tian training. In a few families this is given 
by the parents, but we must extend the same 
opportunities to all the children under the 
influence of the church. 

Let this instruction be worthy of a place be- 
side the public school training, and the physical 
culture now being advocated. This, at least; it 
ought to be better, if possible. 

What saith the Lord ? " Suffer the little 
children to come unto me and forbid them not, 
for of such is the kingdom of God." " Lovest 
thou Me ? " . . . •" Feed my lambs." 

The Junior Christian Endeavor Society and 
the junior departments of denominational young 
people's societies, like the Epworth League, the 
Baptist Young People's Union and others, are 
rapidly and enthusiastically organizing religious 
work among the children. Constitutions, plans, 
programmes and all necessary helps are so 
easily obtainable, that we will not take space 
here even to outline the highly commendable 
features of this new Christian movement. The 
sermons of this book will serve as the religious 
talk for these meetings, to be given by the 
leader or the pastor, if possible. We suggest 
elsewhere series of Bible lessons which ought 
to be inculcated with all the skill, perseverance, 



10 SHALL WE -HAVE A RELIGIOUS MEETING? 

and expectation of the results of the best public 
school teachers, and with far greater enthusiasm 
and impressiveness. Practical Christian work, 
to an extent surprising to the uninformed, has 
already been undertaken and successfully ac- 
complished by very small children. Great inter- 
est is aroused by reports of such work called 
for in the meeting and presented by them. 



II. 



THE CHILDREN S FIVE-MINUTE SERMON. 

FEW Christian parents now require their 
children to attend church services regu- 
larly with them. Here and there, only, is an 
entire family on Sunday morning facing the 
man of God with his message. Many influences 
have combined to relax parental rule over chil- 
dren's religious habits, and it is sadly significant 
that many ask whether, were it possible, it 
would be wise to urge parents generally to 
compel the presence of their children at the 
church services. It were better not to make it 
necessary to compel them, because the special 
provisions for children's instruction drew them. 
But even in the absence of these talks to the 
children, or the general attractiveness of the 
preacher to them, it will, in the judgment of 
the best Christian observers, be a sad mistake not 
ii 



12 THE CHILDREN S FIVE-MINUTE SERMON. 

to take the child very early in life to the House 
of God, and to enact in every Christian house- 
hold the unchangeable law that old and young, 
down to the baby, must go to church every 
Sabbath morning. 

What an inspiration would be whole families 
at church regularly ! Do you say this was the 
case not many years ago ? Yes ; but then 
the services were really interesting to the chil- 
dren without extra provision for them. But now 
glance outside at the attractions for the child- 
mind ; at schools, from the enchanted ground 
of the kindergarten to the wonderful public 
schools, with drawing, sewing, calisthenics, 
manual training, cooking lessons, flowers, pict- 
ures ; everything winsome, enthusiastic, inspir- 
ing ; see the stores, with children's departments 
having a bewildering array of dolls, toys, me- 
chanical, ingenious, beautiful. Any doll will 
not do for the little girl of to-day ; she discrimi- 
nates, and revolves in her mind the respective 
merits of the doll which is double-jointed and 
can stand, of the doll which can cry and say 
" mamma," or the sailor boy, or black Topsy. 
Think of satisfying her with a painted corn-cob 
or a stuffed rag doll ! The boy, her brother, even 
in a home of ordinary comforts, has his steam 
engine, his box of tools, his bicycle, or, with 



THE CHILDREN S FIVE-MINUTE SERMON. 1 3 

different tastes, a most remarkable boy's mu- 
seum of curios. 

Then see the children's magazines, papers, 
books ~— a marvelously entertaining and instruct- 
ive child literature flooding the land. The en- 
tire home is the home of children more than 
ever was dreamed of by the little boys and girls 
who, fifty years ago, went demurely to the fam- 
ily pew in the loved church. Their grandchil- 
dren ought to go as faithfully. But turning 
to the duty of the church in the matter, is it 
not imperative that the church provide as well 
for the children, as the world does ? Coming 
from special attentions received everywhere 
else, will not our boys and girls greatly feel the 
lack if the church forgets their needs ? We 
cannot return to the old days in church alone. 
We must wipe out toy stores, child literature, 
schools, amusements as they exist to-day, to 
accomplish it. But who would desire to pay 
such a price, to say nothing of its impossibility ? 

There is no alternative, if we would have 
children voluntarily in our preaching services, 
but to provide for them ; and to do it as nearly 
as may be with the masterly skill and wisdom 
which characterizes other attractions for them. 
If we love Christ we must show it by feeding 
his lambs, and if the care of the bodies and 



14 THE CHILDREN S FIVE-MINUTE SERMON. 

the minds of children has become so advanced, 
let us rejoice, and determine that spiritual care 
shall be even better. 

We offer the five-minute sermon Sunday 
morning as a suggestive experiment. It will 
commend itself in actual practice. " But the 
transition to the sermon ? " If the sermon it- 
self be above the children, even at the worst 
they will have five minutes, where otherwise 
they would have nothing. And many older 
persons will have five minutes of helpful service, 
instead of, to them, strange depths and heights 
and wanderings. 

Even the preacher needs these Five Minutes 
of special clearness, directness and freedom. 
It will soon open a highway for all the children 
into his learned sermons — and they cannot be 
too learned, if clear — and give them sympathy 
with his cultured breadth of view, which, again, 
cannot be too comprehensive or philosophical if 
directly bearing upon present needs and per- 
plexities. But if he is determined to go on 
discoursing immature thought in learned tech- 
nicalities, the older people will fall asleep, but 
the bright boys and girls will sound his depths 
and find him out. What a blessed change to 
brightness, simplicity, power of vivid illustra- 
tion and general wide awakeness, comes often 



THE CHILDREN S FIVE-MINUTE SERMON. 1 5 

from the five-minute sermon to the children, 



which many of our friends already practice. 

The lambs must be fed with the great truths 
of the Gospel of Christ, in striking form and 
beauty. Literary finish and grace to some ex- 
tent, historical and scientific allusions of the 
simplest kind only, unless time for detailed 
explanation be found. Anecdotes have been 
the staple of talk to children, and are important 
always ; but fresh anecdotes only are thoroughly 
impressive, or old ones very brightly related, 
and not repeated in other lessons. 

Anecdotal preaching is wearisome to any real 
thinker. There are thinkers among the children 
who would rather have argument, definition of 
great truths which solve their perplexities, or 
plain statement of great duties of life. 

I have seen children, from six years up, held 
for half an hour by a talk with not an anecdote 
in it, but whose characteristic was the plain and 
bright setting forth of Christian doctrine and 
duty. Beware of anecdotes which are like a 
large bowl of thin soup, with a little piece of a 
moral swimming somewhere in it. Give the 
children the little bit of meat, and just a sip or 
two of the soup. 

A parable is better than an anecdote, and we 
may freely construct modern parables ; and if 



1 6 THE CHILDREN^ FIVE-MINUTE SERMON. 

anecdotes are scarce, suppose cases which can 
then be manufactured to be full of the lesson 
you would teach. However, a fresh and apt 
anecdote is a prize to be treasured. 

Five minutes is long enough to make a pow- 
erful impression. Teach with intense earnest- 
ness and affectionate interest, but not in a 
childish manner. The five-minute sermon will 
be interesting to old as well as young, and 
your most mature and intellectual business men 
will object most strongly to their discontinu- 
ance. We are all helped by illustrative teach- 
ing. It was the great Teacher's method who 
out-of-doors had the sower, the vine, the sheep- 
fold, the birds and flowers to point to as he 
spoke. 

The preaching of the future to all will have 
to be more intense, vivid, immediately impres- 
sive. We must flood mind through eyes and 
ears at once, as Christ did, and a good begin- 
ning to make is with the children's sermon. It 
will be more like the Saviour's own preaching 
than any other we give. 



III. 

SOME IMPRESSIBLE POINTS IN THE CHILD MIND. 

A CHILD is the easiest of all intelligent 
beings to impress, and the quickest to 
learn up to his full capacity. He is the soul 
most thoroughly alive, and it is a strange idea 
that children are hard to teach religious truth, 
or difficult to interest in it. Of course, they do 
not become enthusiastic over what is Greek to 
them, but they go more patiently to hear Greek 
than they will at any later period in life. My 
aim in the present chapter is to indicate some 
of the impressible points in the child mind. 
Our limits, however, preclude any attempt at 
exhaustive study of juvenile psychology. I can 
offer simply a series of suggestions. 

i. What is the healthy, typical child? He 
is a being with unbounded delight in his per- 
ceptive faculties, especially in seeing ; and there 

*7 



1 8 SOME IMPRESSIBLE POINTS. 

is no door of his mind so gladly opened, and 
that very wide, as his eyes. If we show him 
spiritual truths in familiar objects, we increase 
his natural delight, and turn it to permanent 
profit. We train him to look beneath the sur- 
face for the deep things of good and bad. Our 
conventional methods of preaching and teach- 
ing scarcely touch this open door, and seldom 
make any use of these inviting avenues for 
great truths to the tender soul. That the im- 
pressions from sight are to a child more power- 
ful than those from hearing, is probable, but we 
need not stop to discuss this ; we now simply 
point out an additional access to the child. To 
me, the call is imperative to use it. How can 
it be otherwise ? 

2. The perceptive faculties are all intensely 
active. Let all be kept busy carrying truth in 
spiritual lessons. Let the child feel softness, 
hardness, sharpness, dullness, solidity, etc. ; let 
him both see and hear the brightest, most beau- 
tiful, most charming truths and stories of the 
Bible, of Christian life, of working for Christ ; 
let him both see and hear the pathetic, the sad 
warnings, the terrible results of sins ; all the 
great truths of the wonderful Gospel, in terms 
plain and vivid, but never childish. Let them 
physically feel the good illustration of the truth, 



SOME IMPRESSIBLE POINTS. 1 9 

and their hearts will feel the truth itself might- 
ily. They will not forget what they greatly 
enjoyed seeing. Even perfumes were used in 
that wonderful school of object teaching under 
Moses and Aaron — the Tabernacle ceremonial 
services — and may be used in many lessons 
to-day. Thus taste, smell, sight, hearing and 
feeling may be flooded with truth by the wise 
teacher. Will the truth be any too well im- 
pressed with all these? Dare we confine our- 
selves to hearing, and bury the other four? 

3. The child's vivid imagination. Suggest 
a point or two of a picture, and almost any child 
fills it out. Give a surprising fact in barest 
skeleton, and the children clothe it in flesh and 
fullest detail of garments before they reach 
mother. The exaggerations in statement, and 
the many pure inventions of childhood, which 
trouble innocent parents so much, are not in- 
tentional lies. They are the exuberance of a 
lively imagination, and the wise parent will try 
neither to break a child's will, nor to extinguish 
a child's fancy. He had really better break the 
child's back, and put out its eyes. We can get 
truth-telling, not by whipping the bewildered 
little being, but by calling it more accurately to 
perceive. 

" Are you sure there are a hundred cats in 



20 SOME IMPRESSIBLE POINTS. 

the yard ? Did you really hear a noise like 
thunder ? Look again ; think ; try to remem- 
ber exactly." 

We must save imagination and use it for 
spiritual good. Here is the value of variety of 
suggestiveness in object lessons. The children 
will take the bones and fill out the sermon. 

4. What child does not love beauty ? What 
open eyes for it, what unbounded pleasure ! 
Use this sensibility to convey the deep lessons 
of purity, like the lily and the snow, love like 
the rose, truth like the blue heavens, faith like 
the baby running to mamma, hope like the 
beautiful morning. And the sense of ugliness 
to depict sin. Make letters of serpents, thorns, 
black stumps, chains, dark repulsive pictures 
stirring the aversions of the soul. 

5. Children are not childish in their own 
estimation. They feel themselves to be little 
men and women. The girls play, you say, but 
work, in their own mind, at housekeeping, tak- 
ing care of their children (dolls), teaching 
school, making fashionable calls, etc. All in 
sober earnest, with womanly manners and feel- 
ing. The boys are manly in their thoughts, 
and it is important discriminatingly to recog- 
nize this child feeling. A dignified manner of 
speech to children, while continuing perfectly 



SOME IMPRESSIBLE POINTS. 21 

plain, a loving, genuine courtliness will increase 
the right kind of self-respect among them, and 
give your words great weight. They observe 
how you address men and women, and will 
resent any coming down to "babyisms," when 
turning to them. You are talking to very 
earnest little men and women, but to children 
none the less, and your manner must skillfully 
meet this complex requirement. 

6. The consciences of children are pecu- 
liarly tender and responsive. Lessons to them 
may be ethical, hortatory, advisory, to a degree 
which might become tiresome to older minds ; 
but if given in bright style, with familiar illus- 
trations, will arouse great interest. However, 
it is doubtful whether ethical subjects are as 
dull to the average man as preachers usually 
think. The sermon on duty may be dull, as it 
may be on any subject, but from a man who is 
in touch with the problems of modern life, who 
has studied the perplexities of good people in 
daily life, who has some knowledge of human 
nature, and himself a keen conscience, so that 
he can helpfully solve practical difficulties, a 
discourse on ethics will always have closest 
attention. Let there be more just appreciation 
of the perplexities of true Christian living, 
which are as many and as great as any doctrinal 



22 SOME IMPRESSIBLE POINTS. 

difficulties can be, and let them be philosophi- 
cally studied, and the sermons following will have 
no lack of hearers, young and old. Sermons 
to children ought to present ethical problems, 
and have the children decide them. Give ex- 
ercise to conscience. 

7. There is intense pleasure and immense 
value in the opportunity for free self-decision 
by the child. Over-instruction in duties, giving 
every matter ready to the child's hand, is like 
over-cultivation of plants. Teach the sense of 
moral responsibility to God, and remember that 
character is built up by this free moral activity. 

8. Meet the restless activity of the child by 
jumping from point to point in your lesson, by 
surprises of thought, by many details. Touch 
suggestively rather than exhaustively. Intense 
mental activity during your teaching by many 
things, but all logically bearing upon the one 
truth you are seeking to impress. 

9. The attractiveness of novel things to 
children is well known. Occasionally an object 
altogether foreign to the child's experience will 
be useful, especially if the child is likely to 
have to do with it in after life. The explana- 
tion or description of the new thing will im- 
press your thought all the more. 

10. The child's enthusiasm ought to be 



SOME IMPRESSIBLE POINTS. 23 

constantly utilized. The child nature is deep, 
true and earnest. Frivolity is educated into 
children, often very early. But naturally there 
is enthusiasm for great and serious concerns of 
life. Not to put old heads on young shoulders, 
for this is done when frivolous, shallow old 
heads of foolish parents are imparted, to th% 
exclusion of the frank and deeper young soul'; 
not to sadden the young life, but to turn into 
it streams of perpetual joy ; not to cloud its 
clear sky, but to bring the Sun of Righteous- 
ness into it forever. Earnestness and enthusi- 
asm are essential to the joy of a child at play, 
and we only increase his joy when we skillfully 
turn these into the stream of his great duties. 
11. Refreshing frankness is a trait of child- 
hood. Keep in harmony with this by calling a 
spade a spade, a lie a lie, a mean act mean. 
The words "naughty," " telling stories," or 
"fibs," " taking things," are but a minifying 
of evil actions. Children delight in vigorous, 
direct, ringing, plain English, and to use the 
terms adults employ about life and character. 
Namby-pamby utterances in moral instruction 
disgust the manly boy, who, too often, by pen- 
dulous reaction, swings to the supposed power 
of oaths and curses. Give that boy pure, strong 
Anglo-Saxon, which expresses intense feeling 



24 SOME IMPRESSIBLE POINTS. 

against evil, yet is reverent and courteous, and 
he will not be so likely to swear. Be frank 
with the children. 

12. Voracious memory. Everything about 
the child is grasping to possess. The memory 
is most active and acquisitive now. Use the 
well-known helps to memory : alliteration, repe- 
tition, rhyming. 

13. But how impressible the child's heart! 
That which presently the folly of parents, incul- 
cating the pettiness of conventional society, will 
render flippant and affected, is at earliest con- 
sciousness tender and responsive to affection's 
touch; the child heart is hungry for love, and 
quick to recognize it. Take to it the precious 
love of Christ very early. 

14. Other avenues to the child nature, such 
as the manufacturing instinct, the delight in 
talking, the mother nature in girls and the 
soldier in the boys, may often be appealed to. 
The kindergarten system of teaching, by the 
genius of Froebel, has suggested much also 
very useful to the teacher of spiritual truths. 
Let us do not merely good work, but the best 
possible work, in young souls for Christ's sake. 
For the lambs of Christ ought to have the most 
"tender" grass in the greenest pastures into 
which the flock is led. 



IV. 



ESSENTIALS OF A PROFITABLE TALK TO 

CHILDREN. 

THE suggestive outline sermons which 
make up the body of our little manual, 
will probably be more helpful than ten times 
as much theorizing or description. Yet a few 
points may be important to note here. 

i. Originate your own outlines and talks. 
There is danger of running into servile imita- 
tion of the merely curious and ingenious objects, 
which will rather confuse the child mind. Look 
about for new objects with which to impress 
the Gospel. One original lesson is worth many 
gotten up by another. Be very free with the 
lessons herein given. Add new points, or 
modify any of the schemes. Combine two or 
more in one, or divide lessons. Not to be fan- 
tastic, but to be fresh, and to secure that hearty 

25 



26 ESSENTIALS OF A PROFITABLE TALK. 

enthusiasm in yourself which comes from orig- 
inal work. 

2. The object or the blackboard illustration 
used, and the address upon it, should be the 
direct and simple teaching of a really great 
truth. Use all the variety, beauty, color and 
surprises which will clearly help to enforce the 
truth, and no others. Far-fetched, complicated, 
abstruse additions should be avoided as so 
much foreign matter stirred into the milk of 
the Word. Great truths will stand without 
props ornamental, and they will also produce 
the best impression when they are earnestly 
and clearly converged to a point. Discriminate 
here. No beauty is superfluous, no surprises 
or novelty to be unused which will open the 
child mind and move the child heart, but all 
not for their own sake, but for Christ's and the 
truth's sake. 

3. Be very reverent in tone and subject 
matter. Let there be no approach to undue 
familiarizing of the deep mysteries of our reli- 
gion. It seems easy to some minds to find 
natural analogies to the Trinity, to cleansing 
by the blood in chemistry, and so on; but it is 
of very doubtful propriety, even with adults, 
and with children, already too prone to irrev- 
erence, it is very harmful. No analogies on 



ESSENTIALS OF A PROFITABLE TALK. 27 

these profound subjects are ever hinted at in 
the Scriptures, and the entire Jewish cere- 
monialism was deeply reverent. Let us follow 
its spirit closely in our choice of subjects and 
methods. 

4. Lessons to children ought to be chiefly 
in the realms of duty, privilege, warning ; ethi- 
cal, not speculative ; spiritual rather than theo- 
logical. 

5. Dignify by spiritual impressiveness. This 
is not solemnity, nor austerity. It is possible 
to be bright without flippancy, humorous with- 
out unkindness or irreverence, and to thoroughly 
attract and hold children with lessons of the 
spiritual life in Christ. 

6. Aim to reach the boys as well as the 
girls. Our conventional church methods do 
not only fail to reach the men, but they 
are fast losing the boys from us. Be manly, 
vigorous ; have boys' lessons stirring and 
inspiring. 

7. Have artistic harmony of color and plan. 
Let bright colors set forth the good, dark 
colors the evil. No fanciful mixing of colors in 
a single word, but a simple, appropriate body 
color, and a tasteful shade, if you shade the 
letters. 

8. Become a boy again, or a girl again, in 



28 ESSENTIALS OF A PROFITABLE TALK. 

your views of truth. Draw on memory to real- 
ize how you felt and thought then, and begin 
there. Then add a man's or a woman's clearer 
and broader knowledge to the boy's, and your 
lesson will not need to be taught twice to at 
least some of your little auditors. 



OBJECTS FOR RELIGIOUS LESSONS. 

THE teaching of Christ was largely out 
door work, and in the immediate pres- 
ence of the many objects He uses in parable 
and simile. He could point to the sower walk- 
ing literally over the field when He uttered that 
remarkable characterization of different classes 
of hearers; to the woman bending over the 
three measures of meal in some courtyard, and 
stirring in the leaven; to the gentle Eastern 
shepherd leading out his flock ; to the great 
vine and branches, probably still bearing grapes 
like those the spies brought to Moses. He 
possessed pre-eminently what has been called 
the "homiletical instinct for spiritual analo- 
gies," and in his travels in Palestine He laid 
everything in that simple agricultural commu- 
nity under contribution for religious impression. 
29 



30 OBJECTS FOR RELIGIOUS LESSONS. 

Think of what He could gather for spiritual 
illumination from our present marvelously diver- 
sified life, employments, activities, customs and 
environments of every kind. What truths He 
would discover in the new and mighty forces 
of nature now serving us, so suggestive even to 
dull minds ! What riches of parable He would 
again construct ! To his keen spiritual discern- 
ment everything now, as eighteen hundred years 
ago, would speak of Gospel truth. Things dumb 
to us would have voices so charming ; things 
altogether dark would shine with glorious truth, 
and every new discovery would not only add to 
our material conveniences, but would be at once 
eloquent of spiritual secrets of the Gospel, or 
re-emphasize the truths well-known. 

No books of illustrations will compensate 
the preacher to children, especially for the lack 
of this " homiletical instinct," or live spiritual 
perception of analogies. But this may be ac- 
quired to a sufficient degree for excellent work 
by patient cultivation. 

Believe, therefore, that everything good con- 
tains a spiritual lesson of good. Not too often 
upon the surface, but to be found by earnest 
searching. Get something so good and helpful 
out of objects around you, that they will perpetu- 
ally remind the children how the recent discov- 



OBJECTS FOR RELIGIOUS LESSONS. 3 1 

eries in electricity, natural gas and other forces 
await the touch of some master who can trans- 
mute them into imperishable religious parables. 

Use all the old and familiar objects: the heart, 
hand, armor, anchor, crown, sword, seed, and so 
on. Cut pictures out of advertising hand-bills, 
out of children's books ; gather material when- 
ever opportunity offers. If you cannot draw 
upon the blackboard, pin an object closely cut 
out on it instead. 

Search the Bible for materials. Keep a little 
note-book into which enter every object men- 
tioned in the Bible for illustration. Study the 
Bible also for methods and proprieties in object 
teaching. Avoid every appearance of irrever- 
ence. The Trinity, the blood-cleansing and 
other deep mysteries are to be simply declared ; 
it is irreverent to analyze and experiment here. 

Original, ingenious and elaborate objects are 
proper, if they aid to simplify the truth. And 
they can frequently be made to do so. Let 
your object justify itself by the vividness, force 
and directness with which it enforces the truth. 
It is a means to a high end. Let it be beauti- 
ful, but for no other purpose than to exhibit 
the beauty of truth. Let it be new and origi- 
nal, only to give new and original light upon 
the Gospel it embodies. 



VI. 



THE BLACKBOARD. 



EVERYBODY can make a mark on the 
blackboard. A dot after a line made 
while talking of the end of life, speaks power- 
fully to a child who knows that the punctuation 
mark called " period " is a full stop. A straight 
line is a life of honesty, truth and push. A 
crooked line shows the vacillation, waste and 
ugliness of sin. A lot of little upright lines 
will do to represent a group of children : some 
of them are blue — true and faithful ; others are 
red — earnest and brave ; some white — pure 
and loving. Another group are green — fool- 
ish; or dark brown — full, of sin. Put the bright 
ones upon a line running diagonally upward and 
they are on the way to Heaven ; put the others 
upon the dark way downward, and what child 
will not understand it ? 
32 



THE BLACKBOARD. 33 

You can draw a heart. That is enough for a 
series of lessons. Here is a great heart covering 
the whole board. It is filled with grand thoughts 
of good, with pure desires. Room for father, 
mother, brothers and sisters, for the poor, for 
sinners, for all the world ! And Jesus wonder- 
fully fills it. But here is a narrow, dried-up 
little heart of a selfish, worldly man. Draw it. 
So there are twenty lessons about hearts you 
can teach if you can draw one heart. 

Can you draw hands ? No ? Well, put your 
hand on the board and draw around it. Now, 
look at the inside lines of your hand and put 
them into your outline. Good and evil deeds 
may be taught from this hand. Make some of 
the fingers very long, and talk about stealing 
and its direful end. Let the children imagine 
the hand closed as a brutal fist, or hanging 
down in laziness. Or in good hands speak of 
the busy, skillful, pure, honest, helpful, gentle 
hands. Speak of Christ's hands touching the 
leper, but uncontaminated ; opening blind eyes, 
raising the daughter of Jairus — but finally 
nailed to the cross. 

In a similar way you can begin to use the 
cross, the shield, anchor, sword ; then the more 
difficult crown, leaves, fruit, star, etc. 

Now about lettering. Depend upon free- 



34 THE BLACKBOARD. 

hand, and train your eye to be ruler and spacer. 
Draw letters in plain capitals at first, and little 
by little attempt ornamental letters and shad- 
ing. You will always know how to shade if 
you remember one principle : put your sun or 
light at some definite spot above to right or 
left. Then shade whatever part of each letter 
would cast a shadow from the light shining at 
the spot selected. 

Use colors with taste. To crayon one letter 
of a word yellow, another letter green, another 
blue or red is fantastic. Have all the letters of 
one word the same color. If the word is sug- 
gestive of good or bright things, always use 
bright and attractive colors ; if of sin or dark^ 
ness, use somber, dark and forbidding shades 
of crayon. 

Do not take too much time to prepare your 
blackboard work. Do all rapidly, else time 
which belongs to some other duty will be re- 
quired, and the reaction will come when you can 
give less to blackboard; and then having set up 
an impracticable standard of elaborate drawings, 
you will be discouraged and resign as children's 
meeting leader. Do what you can as a busy 
man ; make no apologies (how can we ever abol- 
ish the folly of apologies ?) and stay at your 
post. " Lovest thou Me ? Feed my lambs." 



THE BLACKBOARD. 35 

For the suggestive sermons we give it is best 
to have a blackboard ; not of slate, but of wood 
covered with liquid slating. Tacks can be 
driven into this with only slight injury to it, 
easily repaired by another application of the 
liquid. I use my boards very freely, and they 
have lasted for years without re-slating. Let 
no tenderness for the blackboard stand in the 
way of the best putting of Gospel truth. A 
thousand blackboards are a small price to pay 
for saving a boy or girl. 



VII. 

OBJECT AND BLACKBOARD COMBINED. 

TACK a money-purse, open, to the center 
of the blackboard. Draw three lines to- 
ward it from the right, ending in the open purse. 
One line, straight and white, is the honest way 
to roll money into the pocketbook. Another is 
crooked and green — the questionable way; the 
third is zigzag and dark — a thieving and dis- 
honest way. Take a silver dollar and roll it 
along each way while you dwell upon the many 
important ethical questions of money getting. 
The questionable way is only doubtful to loose 
or immature consciences; to all really good peo- 
ple it is wrong. 

Would it not be surprising and beautiful to 
have lighted candles on blackboard pictures ? 
You can easily have them by folding a stiff 
piece of paper V-shaped, and holding it open 



OBJECT AND BLACKBOARD COMBINED. 37 

end against the board with the front up, so as to 
form a little shelf when tacked above and be- 
low. Soften the bottom of the candle over a 
light and it will adhere to the paper support. 
The lighted candles represent good people or 
children, and here is a most fruitful field for 
developing a score of lessons. 

This combination of objects with crayon work 
on the blackboard is of immense value in chil- 
dren's sermons. All your objects can again be 
used, deepening former lessons. Some ingenuity 
will have to be exercised in neatly getting certain 
objects into place; but if you lack this ingenuity, 
do as I did ; call in some bright mechanic to 
help you. Tell him what you want done ; get 
suggestions. I am under great obligations to 
my ingenious friend, not a mechanic, but a 
genius in overcoming mechanical difficulties, 
Mr. William A. Fisher, of Bryn Mavvr. The 
sermons following will illustrate the value of 
the suggestions here made. 



VIII. 

THE PROGRAMME FOR MEETINGS. 

THE teacher, always, in large measure, is 
the school. So the leader of our chil- 
dren's religious meetings must be the unfailing 
and abundant spring of interest and helpfulness. 
By much prayer, by industrious accumulation 
and working up of material, and by a Christ- 
like view of childhood which sincerely loves 
it, he or she must prepare. With such an 
ideal of good work as there ought to be the 
leader will often be discouraged, but far better 
thus than to be too easily satisfied. For when 
most discouraged, if the leader yet keeps on 
with spirit, the best work probably is being 
done. 

The programme for the meetings must have 
variety, but should avoid being confusing. 
Some general order of exercises is desirable, 

33 



THE PROGRAMME FOR MEETINGS. 39 

and we furnish here some suggestions of mate- 
rial. Every earnest leader will be able to 
gather more than is needed along these and 
similar lines. 

1. Singing ought to be well provided for, 
using an organ and other helps. Many children 
like the grand old church hymns, like " Jesus, 
Lover of my Soul," " Rock of Ages," "Nearer, 
my God, to Thee ! " and if you give them the 
choice they will frequently call for them. But 
children's sacred songs and hymns are very 
abundant, and the best should be taught. 
" Action" songs, with hand clapping, pointing 
upward and other gestures, are of never-failing 
interest. Old-fashioned lining of hymns, with 
all books closed ; the first word of the line sung 
by the leader, the rest by the children ; the re- 
sponsive singing by dividing the meeting into 
two parts : solo, semi-chorus and chorus; very 
loud singing if jubilant, very low if pathetic ; 
a hymn prayer sung on their knees ; a monthly 
closing hymn. These are a few of the many 
variations to be adopted when interest flags. 

2. Prayer. — The children need very explicit 
and detailed instruction in prayer. Tell them 
why you kneel, if you do, or stand, or bow the 
head ; show them the advantage of clasped hands 
and closed eyes. These are the shell of prayer; 



40 THE PROGRAMME FOR MEETINGS. 

what is the rich kernel ? A heart engaged. So 
let knees, clasped hands and closed eyes all pray. 
Get them to frame original petitions or sentences 
in prayer, giving them such suggestions as, "O, 
God, our Father ! we come to praise thee. We 
give thanks for all thy blessings. We thank 
thee for good homes, kind friends, for schools 
and books, for food and clothing, and for thy 
church. We thank thee that Jesus came into 
this world as a little child. That He went 
about doing good, and died for us. We cannot 
name all we thank thee for. We pray thee to 
forgive us our sins, and wash our hearts clean. 
Help us to be good, obedient and loving. Bless 
our meeting, all our friends, and all men. For 
Jesus' sake ;" then, with the leader, let all pray 
the Lord's prayer. 

Teach the children to pray at home in the 
morning. Very few children do this, and we 
have no popular morning prayer like that world- 
wide evening verse, " Now I lay me down to 
sleep." 

I venture to give a morning counterpart : 



Now I rise to work and play, 
I pray Thee, bless me all this day ; 
To keep from sin, to do some good, 
To love and serve Thee as I should. 

For Jesus' sake. Amen. 



THE PROGRAMME FOR MEETINGS. 41 

Here is a verse which I have given to hun- 
dreds of little children to use at the table : 

We thank Thee for our daily bread, 
And all the blessings on us shed; 
We pray Thee, fill us with Thy love, 
And guide us to our home above. 

For Jesus' sake. Amen. 

Another exercise in prayer is the children's 
" union prayer." Write the four topics, Thanks- 
giving, Confession, Petitions for Others, Peti- 
tions for Myself, on the blackboard. Talk about 
these until you have suggested a large number 
of sentences for each. Then kneel or bow, and 
let all who will voluntarily utter a sentence one 
after another, yourself commencing and closing. 

3. — A Few Scripture Lessons. 

(1.) Bible History seen from interesting homes. 

The Home in Eden. Who were the parents ? What can 
you tell about the two boys ? The third son ? What strange 
events occurred ? 

The Home in the Ark. Who was its head ? Name the rest 
of the family. What wonderful experiences had they ? 

The Homes in Tents, Abraham's, Isaac's, Jacob's. Tell 
three things about each. 

The Passover Home. The three children, Moses, Aaron, 
Miriam, what did they accomplish ? 

The Home in the Temple. What old man was there, and 
what dear little boy ? 

The Palace Home. David's, with its wise boy, and very 
bad boy. 



42 THE PROGRAMME FOR MEETINGS. 

The Babylonian Home of Four Young Men — Daniel and 
the three others. What did they do ? 

The Nazareth Home. What was the business of the father ? 
Tell about the wonderful Son. 

Each of these will do for a lesson. 

(2.) The history of God's people down to the present. Do 
not let children imagine that God ceased to care for or guide 
his people after Bible times. Trace the story of Providence 
down to the date of your lesson. We use Usher's chronology. 

a. The Beginnings — Adam to Enoch — 1,000 years. 

b. The Punishments — Enoch to Abraham — 1,00 years. 

c. The Jewish Church — Abraham to Solomon — 1,000 
years. 

d. The Prophetic Outlook for Jesus — Solomon to Christ 
— 1,000 years. 

e. Jesus in the Flesh — 33 years. 

f. Apostles continue His work — to 100 A. D. [Round Nos. 

g. The Pure Primitive Church — to 300 A. d. 

h. The Corrupt Romish Church — to 1500 a. d. 
i. The Reformation under Luther — to 1750 A. d. 
/ The Revival under Wesley — to 1850 a. d. 
k. The most wonderful of all — to the present day. 
(3.) The subjects of the Bible : 
God — Man — Sin — Salvation — The Future. 
(4) The kind of full and rounded character we are build- 
ing in the children. A whole alphabet and more of Be's. 

Be active Be examples of good 

Be brave Be yoked to Christ 

Be careful Be zealous 

Be dutiful Be accommodating 

Be earnest Be generous 

Be faithful Be prayerful 

Be good Be hopeful 



THE PROGRAMME FOR MEETINGS. 



43 



Be honest 
Be industrious 
Be just 
Be kind 
Be loving 
Be manly 
Be noble 
Be obedient 
Be pure 
Be quick 
Be ready 
Be sincere 
Be truthful 
Be useful 
Be virtuous 
Be wise 



Be devout 
Be humble 
Be gentle 
Be content 
Be patient 
Be unselfish 
Be forgiving 
Be grateful 
Be upright 
Be steady 
Be enthusiastic 
Be thoughtful 
Be sympathetic 
Be strict 
Be genial 
Be Christlike 



(5.) The practical work for children. 

Take flowers to the sick. 

Find out the poor. 

Take delicacies to the suffering. 

Look out for children outside of all Sunday-schools. 

Stand up for Christ on the playground, at school and at 
home. 

Earn a little money to give to every good cause. 

Protect animals and birds from cruelty. 

In winter time take baskets to the poor. 

At Christmas time distribute presents to those who other- 
wise would get none. 



And very much more. Call for reports upon 
these and other lines of practical work. If you 
can, appoint the most active to special charge 
of departments. 



HOOKING THE CHILDREN AWAY. 




@0$m Mkw 




DRAW the words "Children — Jesus," on 
blackboard, leaving considerable space 
at left. From that end of board have a number 
of heavy dark lines to represent long poles with 
the interrogation mark (?) as a hook on top 
at end of each. So there are people in our 
churches who do not come near enough to 
children to understand them ; who by long 
hooks of questions raised by prejudices pull 
them away from Christ. They have such hooks 
as these: How can children understand the 



44 



HOOKING THE CHILDREN AWAY. 45 

deep truths about God ? But this would pull 
us all away, for none of us fully understand 
these profound mysteries. Or they say, chil- 
dren by their faults and sins bring reproach 
upon Christ. Now, put down your pole a mo- 
ment and be honest ; if you are without fault 
in this respect, then cast stones at the dear 
children. But like the former Pharisees, the 
brother has gone and there lies his long, cruel 
pole. Good for firewood. But another hook : 
Will it last in the child ? This is like asking 
whether the baby in the arms of that brother's 
wife would live if laid out on the doorstep, given 
sour milk occasionally, and left to be frightened 
and bitten by dogs ; whether it is worth while 
to do anything for that baby when it has 
measles or mumps or chicken-pox, etc. That 
baby will live if it is taken care of, in all proba- 
bility. So will the young Christian continue if 
intelligently nurtured. Don't cast him out if he 
should take something like measles spiritually ; 
all babes in Christ even when born at sixty 
years of age are likely to have them. Or, if the 
young Christian should go astray so far as to 
have scarlet fever religiously, get the best doc- 
tor possible. Here are some hooks on the other 
side : When is the lamb so young that it had 
better be outside than in the fold ? When is 



4-6 HOOKING THE CHILDREN AWAY. 

the child too young to go to heaven if he dies ? 
When too young to love ? Or to obey ? Hook 
these questions, dear brethren with the long 
poles, into your ugly prejudices and pull them 
out where the light and air will make them 
crumble into pieces. 

" Suffer the children to come unto Me, and 
forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven." If " kingdom of heaven " means the 
church of Jesus on earth as well as in glory — and 
this is unquestionably its meaning — away with 
the sharp hooks, and come as a child yourself. 



THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. 




DRAW an immense bunch of grapes cover- 
ing the entire blackboard. Tell the ac- 
count of the two spies bringing the great cluster 
from Eshcol to Moses. We may have a more 
wonderful cluster for ourselves when we are 
saved and have the Holy Spirit abiding in our 
hearts. 

Now, see our fine cluster ! (Have tags of 
different colors to pin on to grapes.) Here is a 
large grape on which I put this pink tag and 

47 



48 THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. 

call it Love. Who does not like this grape ? 
Let us cultivate it carefully and permit no harm 
to come to it. Insects would sting it, but let us 
cover the cluster as the vinedresser does with a 
large muslin bag, and call it the Church. 

Here is a grape called Faith ; I put a white 
tag on it. How sweet and nourishing it is ! 
Here is Truth, with a blue tag for it. Nice to 
look at as the beautiful heavens above. For 
the grape Earnestness, I have a scarlet tag, 
and for Steadfastness, evergreen. For Courage, 
here is a tag of gold. 

Now, what does the pink tag point out ? 
The blue, etc. ? 

This cluster must grow on a branch joined 
to the Vine, Jesus. 

The fruits of the Spirit named in Galatians 
v. 22, 23, or the virtues in Second Peter 1. 5-7 
may be used. An interesting New Testament 
lesson is made by taking these two lists, and 
the precepts of Romans xn. 9-21 expressed in 
a word, and making three parallel columns on 
the other side of your blackboard or on large 
white paper. Check off with a bright word of 
comment duplicates of first list in the other two, 
duplicates in third of the second ; then have 
tags for all the different fruits of the Spirit 
named in the three lists. A little reflection 



THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. 49 

will select suggestive colors for tags to repre- 
sent all these. 

A large number of the good fruits is desirable, 
because it will make a most valuable and lasting 
impression of the great variety and breadth of 
Christian activities. 



DON'T BE A SPONGE, BE A 
WATER LILY. 

THIS is the sermon on the one talent im- 
proved or unimproved. Read the part 
of the parable relating to it. (Have a lot of 
sponges, large and small, of different grades. 
Three will do if you cannot get more. One, 
indeed, will impress the lesson, but if you have 
more you can name the sponges, and show that 
though looking different, one coarse, dirty, 
small, the other, of fine texture, rich and clean, 
they are all alike in the one thing we here con- 
demn. Have pitcher of water near.) 

See these sponges ? Here is Jerry Bruiser, 
rough-looking and dirty ; here is Dan Sourface, 
swearing and drinking ; here is Mr. Augustus 
Dudins, clean-looking, but just as really a sponge 
as the others. And so on, characterizing all 
you have. 

All of them agree in taking in lots of water, 
50 



DON T BE A SPONGE, BE A WATER LILY. 5 1 

but they make no use of it. They take the one 
talent and hide it without improving it at all. 
See how greedily they take it ! (Pour a little 
water upon them dry.) And if I squeeze out 
the clean water they would take foul water just 
as greedily. 

Now they have the clean water, and when the 
Master comes in judgment and squeezes out 
their talent it is just as he gave it — no increase, 
no profit to the world nor to the sponge. Don't be 
a sponge going to church and Sunday school and 
simply taking in good things without using them 
in forming beautiful character or doing good. 

Let us turn to the water lily and see how dif- 
ferently she uses the one talent, water. (If you 
cannot get a water lily, use picture of it, or 
draw on blackboard.) The lily stands right in 
the water and uses all she can. But she trans- 
forms it into beauty, fragrance, purity, life, 
like a good character who uses the Water of 
Life to become like Christ. 

Be like the lily in wanting much. Be like 
her in purity and fragrance, making men to ad- 
mire goodness. And like her in having life, 
which constantly uses all good things it can 
secure and grows more and more. 



THE TWO WAYS. 




THE plan is to construct, by tacking strips 
of cardboard folded properly on black- 
board, a way upward that will hold little candles 
so that they can be lighted, and also a way 
downward with candles, but not lighted. How 
is this way made ? Take long strips of white 
cardboard, eighteen inches or longer, by two 
inches wide. Fold over lengthwise in middle 
of width, and then by turning upper edge out 
about quarter inch wide, you will have a ledge 
52 



THE TWO WAYS. 53 

to tack on. A few very small tacks in this nar- 
row edge and a few below will hold your way 
firm. The road downward of dark brown card- 
board is made in the same way, and these two 
ways come together near the center of the 
blackboard to the left. Here they join a way 
to left end of blackboard straight from where 
the two diverge. A little ingenuity will cut a 
gate out of cardboard, and attach it at opening 
of good way upward. The upward way ought 
to reach the right hand upper corner, where you 
can print the word " Heaven " very attractively 
with light radiating. The downward way to 
lower right hand corner with the word "Lost ! " 
in dark colors. Complete blackboard design by 
drawing outline of home and church on way of 
childhood leading to the gate of salvation, and 
a saloon on the downward way. 

How do we attach the candles ? By soften- 
ing the bottom over a light, and holding to 
cardboard until they harden and adhere. 

Now, boys and girls, we are going to see a 
" Pilgrim's Progress.'' I mean the starting of 
some children and older people on the good way 
you see here. Some are already on it, away up, 
this beautiful white candle near heaven. Here 
are blue ones, soldiers true and brave. Here 
are pink, loving and kind ; and here is one of 



54 THE TWO WAYS. 

gold (yellow), so useful and good. Now (light 
these) see how their, lives shine ! What a glori- 
ous way they are traveling! Don't you wish 
you could go with them ? Well, here is a little 
blue candle for this boy, a pink one for the girl. 
They are here at the home and are going to 
church. Now they decide. Here they are at 
the gate of repentance and faith, and now they 
are through. We will set them on the good 
way, along with the many Christians already 
there. 

But there is another way of living. And 
here is a little candle (green) deciding not to go 
the upward way and so turning down the dark 
road. W T hy, see — he is green ! Yes ; very green 
and very foolish. Another dark red is soon to 
follow, and here are crooked candles, dirty ones, 
broken ones already on the way. How sad ! 
Some of them in front of the saloon and others 
inside, I suppose. But not one of them is 
lighted. All dark, and the way full of fears 
and troubled consciences. This is the way 
Cain walked, and Absalom and Judas, and all 
who do not love Christ. 

But let us try to save some of these on the 
downward way. Here is one just started. Tell 
him about Jesus, pray for him, invite him to 
church and Sunday-school. Now he is coming, 



THE TWO WAYS. 55 

But he is sinful, dark (or green as may be) and 
Christ must give him a new heart. The Saviour 
will change him into a pure white candle like 
this, so we put away forever the old life. Now 
he is on the way with the others. Here is one 
poor sinner far down the road. He is a drunk- 
ard, a blasphemer, cruel to his wife and children 
when drunk. But he remembers his mother 
and the old Sunday-school. Tell him about 
them and about Jesus. Now he is weeping and 
he goes with you. Jesus changed him, too, into 
a beautiful white candle. How happy his wife 
and children ! Here they come too, to enter 
the shining way. 

Here is one on the bad way near the end. 
Another step and he will be lost ! Oh ! will 
not somebody run to save him ? They run for 
the minister or some good Christian man or 
woman. They pray, and, like the dying thief, 
the poor fellow turns back and gets upon the 
heavenly way. But there are many wicked 
people who die instantly or do not care even in 
death to come to the Saviour. 

These are a few of many such applications 
of truth possible through this object lesson. 
Talk familiarly and enter into the feelings and 
life of the children. Can such a lesson be given 
in -five minutes? Yes; for if you have only 



56 THE TWO WAYS. 

five minutes you need only suggest. The pict- 
ure will aid the lively imaginations instantly 
to fill out more than you could describe in half 
an hour. But a half-hour can be spent upon it 
and every little mind kept in eager attention to 
the last. 



THE MONEY SERMON. 

FASTEN a large purse in center of black- 
board, with mouth open. Run three lines 
into it from the left ; the upper, white and 
straight, represents honest getting of money by 
fairly earning it, by equitable sale of goods or 
property, or by inheritance of honest money. 
Inheriting dishonest money is not a righteous 
way of getting it. 

The second line has a great interrogation 
mark before it, and is dark and wavy like a 
snake. It represents doubtful or question- 
able ways of getting money, like growing or 
selling tobacco in any shape, buying or sell- 
ing on Sunday, speculating, etc. Some people 
say these are all right, but better people of 
tender conscience say, "Wrong." We want 
to live like the best people on the clearest 
track. 

The third way is still darker and zigzag like 
57 



58 THE MONEY SERMON. 

a lightning bolt, or one escaping from a police- 
man. It is the thievish way. 

Now take silver dollars and notes and little 
lanterns, red, blue, white; or little railroad flags 
bright red, blue, and white, and as you roll a 
dollar along the white way, set up your white 
flag, or hang white light on board. And so 
with blue lantern or flag. Wave red lantern or 
flag vigorously when the dollar goes along the 
zigzag way. After all, there are but two ways, 
yet every practical teacher will see the impor- 
tance of some clear instruction upon disputed 
points, so that I would set forth the three ways, 
but urging the avoidance of all doubtful busi- 
ness. It is safe to regard it all as wrons;. 

As a close to this lesson, or in another if 
thought best, the right, the questionable and 
the sinful ways of spending money may be 
taught. 

No instruction is more important, none so 
generally neglected as the ethics of business 
transactions. This blackboard illustration gives 
basis for many valuable talks. 



THE FENCE RAILS NOT TO BE 
TAKEN DOWN. 






w 




DRAW a long four rail fence upon the board, 
running it straight across, or out in per- 
spective over landscape. Complete landscape, 
if you can, by representing one side of fence as 
green field, etc., the other barren and stony. 
One length of rails is to be erased, and rails 
made of white cardboard substituted. Cut them 
narrow as your chalk rails, and drive tacks or 
staples at crayon posts which will hold them. 
59 



60 FENCE RAILS NOT TO BE TAKEN DOWN. 

These rails divide the evil from the good and 
must never be taken down. Let us name the 
rails : ist, or upper rail, is " Thoughts about 
evil." When this is taken down, then vile 
pictures are looked at, bad books read and foul 
language listened to. 

2d rail keeps out " Desires for evil." This 
follows soon after first rail. But keep it in 
resolutely. Never let yourself want anything 
or desire to do anything which is sinful. 

3d rail keeps the "Will." Take this down 
and your mind is made up to do wrong, and 
then only one low rail, the 4th, keeps out the 
"Evil deed." 

Now if you have taken down a single rail of 
this fence put it back into place and nail them 
fast. (Take eight tacks and fasten at each end 
of rail with a few blows of the hammer.) 

This hammer is the brave, true heart, and 
these nails are good resolutions carried out. 

The true Christian has this fence securely 
nailed from the first day of his Christian life. 



HEARTS AND THEIR TENANTS. 

CUT out of cardboard two hearts about fif- 
teen inches across. They are now white 
and innocent, but evil spirits a*e pressing for- 
ward to enter. Have pictures cut out of toy- 
books as required, and paste or pin into heart 
as you proceed. 

Here comes the hog spirit wanting every- 
thing. This is in when children are selfish and 
greedy. (Pin hog near bottom.) Then comes 
the bear, cross, growling. (Pin bear on left 
side.) Next the tiger spirit, which is cruel and 
loves to stone cats, pull wings off flies, kill 
birds and tease little children to make them cry. 
(Put tiger on right.) Then the dress is flounced 
right and left, the lips are set, the head is 
thrown back haughtily, because the peacock 
spirit has entered. (This, middle above.) But 
another spirit wants to enter, a sly, cunning 
fox. He will cret the boys and sdrls to tell lies, 
61 



62 HEARTS AND THEIR TENANTS. 

to deceive, to hide what they ought to talk over 
with mamma. (Pin fox in center.) 

Now see what a sad condition of heart ! 
What can be done? The boy or girl with this 
heart goes to Sunday-school, but up to this time 
resists the call of Jesus. Here is another inno- 
cent heart. The hog, bear, fox, tiger, peacock, 
are all refused admission, and then the dove, 
the lamb, the patient and industrious ox come 
in. It is full of light and love. Jesus (write 
in large letters across or print it in) fills this 
heart. 

Now the good heart pities the other, and talks 
so gently and wisely about being good. It is 
always helping the other and doing little acts of 
kindness. The wicked heart is moved, the ani- 
mals are beginning to feel alarmed. They are 
ordered out by one whom they must obey — 
Jesus. 

Then it is clean, and soon all good fills it. 



HONOR THY FATHER AND THY 
MOTHER. 





Pt*tX^ht 



THIS is a children's sermon on the Fifth 
Commandment. Draw the two tables 
of the law in the midst of mountain scenery on 
the blackboard. The Fifth Commandment is 
the first on the second table. Cut large card- 
board resembling the part of the second table 
the Fifth Commandment occupies, and write the 
command upon this. Have two other pieces 
of cardboard about twelve inches by six inches, 
to represent two families of little candles. Set 
t>3 



64 HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER. 

larger candles at each end and two smaller ones 
on each side of the two cards. 

Now, boys and girls, we see the Ten Com- 
mandments God gave to Moses on the Mount. 
We take the first on the second table to-day. 
What is it ? (Repeat.) Here we have it sepa- 
rately, but we must not forget it is one of the 
great laws given on the Mount. (Take separate 
card.) 

It is different from eight of the others which 
tell us what not to do. They are really prohi- 
bitions. This and the Fourth Commandment 
(what is it ?) tell us of positive duties. The 
others point out sins to avoid, these tell us of 
virtues to follow. They say "do," not "don't." 

And this is the commandment with promise. 
A promise of long life at home ; and long life 
probably means a happy and prosperous life. 
What a great promise ! 

Does this law tell us to obey father and 
mother in every case and as long as we live ? 
No ; it commands us to honor. What does 
honor mean ? The word Moses used in his 
language, and the one Jesus used in another lan- 
guage when he repeated this law, both mean to 
do that which will make father and mother 
honorable or bring them honor from others. 
We are to act toward them always so that other 



HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER. 6$ 

people will respect them, and this means that 
when they are good and tell us to be good we 
must promptly and fully obey them. We can 
not make them honorable before others if we 
do not show our regard by soldierlike obedience. 

When you are quite small and know so little 
as you do of the life before you, your parents 
must guide you wholly. You may not under- 
stand why they want you to go to bed at eight 
o'clock, why they don't allow you to run with 
Tom Streetwalker or Miss Saucytongue, etc. ; 
but you must obey, and as you grow older you 
will see right and wrong more clearly, and not 
need so much of your mother's " don't," or 
your father's sharper word. Then they will let 
you decide matters more and more, until at 
twenty-one you are to do all the deciding, with 
only advice from your parents. But still you 
honor them by asking their advice and follow- 
ing it whenever you can conscientiously do so. 

Suppose you have a father who is bad, who 
drinks, swears or steals and wants you to steal 
or do other wickedness. You do not honor him 
by obeying such a wicked order. You must 
disobey him by obeying God. But gently, so 
that you may win him if possible. Here is a 
family with good father and mother. How 
brightly they shine ! The four children are 



66 HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER. 

safe in obeying such parents. (Show card with 
large candles lit.) 

Here is another family. See this dark 
crooked candle of a father ! No light of good 
in him ; he swears and orders the boy to steal ; 
but the shining boy will not obey and the sister 
also refuses. How the father, so wicked, swears 
and whips them ! But they obey God, and the 
bad father thinks over it, becomes penitent, the 
children pray for him and he is saved. 

Honor the good father by obeying ; honor 
the bad father by obeying God ! 

And the mother also is specially mentioned. 
Since the patriarchal father, or the father in 
Moses' time, was also a ruler and then their 
priest, this law teaches also to be loyal to church 
rules and to the laws of the land. 



THE ALTAR SERMON. 




J 



m 



THE object used is a large cross made of 
six equal squares of heavy cardboard. 
The squares may be six by six inches, and are 
joined together four in a line and one on each 
side joined to second square of this line, so as to 
form a cross. Join by heavy strips of linen glued 
on, but forming hinges. When the lower squares 
are lifted up and sides and top brought together, 
a cubical box is formed, which is to be crayoned 
outside into large stones to look like an altar. 
If the lowest square of cross is cut out with 
67 



68 THE ALTAR SERMON. 

projecting horns below, these will come into 
place as front horns on the altar. 

Now, open into cross and tack securely upon 
blackboard by the middle square, leaving the 
other squares free. Print the word Jesus in 
attractive colors across the arms of the cross. 
Now fold into altar and fasten with pins stuck 
in wherever needed. Complete design by draw- 
ing mountain with rocks and trees under the 
altar. It will extend out, of course, but the 
mountain can be drawn so as to appear all right 
from this front. To make the Ark of the Cov- 
enant out of this altar get gilt paper which will 
hang to horns of the altar and cover it front 
and part way on sides. Paste little strips on 
side to hold the covered gilt poles which you 
can then put in and complete the appearance of 
the sacred ark. Draw flames above ark as it 
stands. Leave gilt off until you come to speak 
of the Ark of the Covenant. Show board with 
altar of stones. 

Here, boys and girls, is, such an altar as Abel 
used when he came to God to pray. He knew 
something, but we cannot tell just how much, 
of Jesus who was to come into the world as the 
Saviour. But he knew there must be sacrifice 
of life to save from sin, so he brought a lamb 
and laid it upon his altar confessing his sins to 



THE ALTAR SERMON. 69 

God. He trusted in God's mercy and had faith 
in Christ, as far as he knew about him. Cain 
was proud and brought thank-offering, but noth- 
ing to show he felt himself a sinner. Cain, 
wicked as he was, thought himself good enough. 

Noah offered upon such an altar after he 
came out of the ark. What a wonderful feeling 
he must have had ! Abraham offered often, 
but once God asked him to lay Isaac upon 
the altar in death and burning. He obeyed 
promptly, but God saved Isaac. Tell this story 
graphically. 

Then we come to Moses and the tabernacle 
sacrifices, burnt-offerings, peace-offerings, thank- 
offerings and others. In the tabernacle was 
a room called the Holy of Holies, and there 
was a golden altar called the Ark of the 
Covenant. Here God dwelt between golden 
cherubim above the Ark. The top of the Ark 
was called the mercy seat. In the Ark at one 
time there were the Tables of Stone of the Ten 
Commandments, a pot of manna and the rod 
which budded and bore almonds and that settled 
the question that Aaron was God's chosen High 
Priest. Two golden rods were used to carry 
the Ark. This is full of Gospel meaning. 

We take this gold off and again have the 
common altar. Think of Solomon offering upon 



yO THE ALTAR SERMON. 

it, and of Elijah's great contest upon Mt. 
Carmel ! 

But we have the last and best altar with the 
Lamb of God upon it. (Open to cross, pin top 
and sides fast to board if necessary.) 

Let us come in His name and trusting in 
Him for salvation. God offered up his Son for 
us as Abraham was willing to do, but no one 
could stay God's hand, and Jesus died in great 
shame and agony. Let us come to Him con- 
fessing our sins to-day ! 



ARCH OF CHARACTER. 




I WOULD not teach this lesson of the ele- 
ments of true Christian character without 
having: blocks cut out to form stones of the arch. 
Our character is to be " Godlike," with a stone 
to represent each letter, seven in all, including 
the keystone. Get some Christian carpenter in- 
terested in it. It will help that wonderful Car- 
penter of Nazareth now in His building up 
souls. So much good will this lesson, brightly 
and earnestly taught to little children, do for 
them, that to have granite blocks actually cut 



J2 ARCH OF CHARACTER. 

at great expense would hardly be money thrown 
away. If you can also draw arch upon black- 
board, have it support railroad with turbulent 
stream flowing through. But wooden blocks 
neatly fitting together will do without black- 
board. The foundations must be repentance 
on one side, faith on the other. Then upon the 
left you build G — Gentleness. We must get 
all roughness, rudeness, haughtiness out of our 
manner and be courteous in love, gentlemen 
and ladies, as Christ and Paul and Mary were. 
And with this we put upon the other side E — 
Earnestness. With zeal never wearying, with 
our heart all stirred to work day and night for 
the good of men. Our gentleness fired with 
earnestness, our earnestness directed by gentle- 
ness. The hand of steel in the velvet glove. 

Then on G we lay O — Obedience, like that 
of a soldier. Prompt, unflinching, brave, full 
and without asking any questions. 

On E we lay K — Knowledge. We must 
study the Bible to know God's will ; we must 
study his works to become wise and thought- 
ful ; we must seek salvation until we know our 
sins are forgiven. All knowledge possible of all 
good things, and that knowledge by spiritual 
experience of Christ. Lay this stone securely. 

Next, on the O we put D — Devoutness. We 



ARCH OF CHARACTER. 73 

must be respectful or reverent, as we say, in 
God's house. We must handle the Bible de- 
voutly, be devout in time of prayer and in 
reference to every sacred object or service. 
Not long-faced or gloomy, but just as we are 
with friends whom we esteem highly, very cheer- 
fully respectful. We may be joyfully reverent 
in God's house. They — that is, people gen- 
erally — tell us boys and girls of to-day are no- 
tably irreverent ; that they talk during prayer, 
and some even laugh ; that they run into the 
church or Sunday-school rudely ; handle the 
Bible roughly, sit on it or even stand upon it to 
reach something they want, and so on. How 
is it ? Have you this most beautiful stone well 
laid in your arch ? 

On the other side, over the K put / — Im- 
proving ; that is, growing better all the time. 
This arch we see is made of blocks that cannot 
improve or grow better, but the arch of your 
character is constructed of virtues which are 
full of life and may grow into higher power and 
beauty as long as life lasts. You ought to im- 
prove upon last year's living, upon last month's, 
last week's, and even yesterday's. You are 
writing a new line in life's copy-book ; look at 
the headlirre and make this the best you ever 
wrote. 



74 ARCH OF CHARACTER. 

Now we are up to the keystone L, and you 
can all guess what it is to represent. " Love ! " 
Yes ; without love the arch falls to pieces and 
all the other stones will not stand ; we cannot 
have true gentleness, nor long continue in earn- 
estness ; we will not fully obey without it, nor 
learn much of God ; nor be anything but owl- 
ishly reverent without love to God, and we will 
not improve much. Love holds good character 
together, and adds a new and wonderful power 
of its own. Read First Corinthians xiii. and 
see also how Jesus loved. 

And we will then be Godlike. Just as God 
would be if he lived in a body like ours and in 
a world like ours. Did God ever thus live ? 
Yes ; in Jesus, when he went up and down in 
Palestine. So our character will imitate that of 
Christ, who said, " Follow me ! " 

The arch is the strongest building and the 
most beautiful. Great trains run over it safely ; 
all men admire. So with " Godlike " character. 
It is both strong and beautiful, most attractive 
and most useful at the same time. 



FOURTH OF JULY. 




q 



DKLARaTiO»4 

or 

jrtptpENDENcr 



DRAW scroll entitled " Declaration of Inde- 
pendence " on blackboard, with John 
Hancock's fac-simile signature. Also, bell with 
well-known crack. A flag over the board will 
add to your picture. 

What an inspiring story is that of American 

Independence — throwing off the yoke of a 

tyrannical king and beginning a career of 

most wonderful prosperity and power. The 

75 



?6 FOURTH OF JULY. 

Declaration was related to the War of Revolu- 
tion in an instructive way. 

i. There was much fighting and actual war 
for fifteen months before the Declaration was 
adopted. But that fighting was aimless, and 
accomplished very little except to prepare for 
independence. So there are many who fight 
sin without declaring independence of it, who 
make compromises and love sin more or less 
while refusing to yield everything to it. They 
try to be good without becoming Christians, but 
this is not enough. 

2. The colonists found the Declaration nec- 
essary. So will everybody find, who tries to be 
pure and useful, that he must renounce sin. 
See what terrible things sin has done, just as 
our forefathers made a list of the wrongs King 
George inflicted. Jesus has declared independ- 
ence for us and for the world. Let us agree 
to it now and bravely as Hancock did. 

3. Fight as brave soldiers to maintain our 
independence and to make it real and lasting. 
There was a long war after the Declaration of 
Independence before the country was really 
free. Ours will be lifelong, but we have a 
greater Captain than Washington, and we need 
not lose a single battle. 

4. " If the Son shall make you free, ye shall 



FOURTH OF JULY. J*] 

be free indeed." "Whosoever committeth sin 
is the servant (slave) of sin." This we know 
is true, terribly true, when men are drunkards, 
thieves, and have angry passions. And it is 
just as true of sins of the heart. If you in- 
dulge in spite, you soon become a slave to your 
own spitefulness, and when you want to expel 
it from your heart, it holds you like a tyrant. 
So with envy, jealousy, the unforgiving or re- 
vengeful spirit. Each of these evil spirits holds 
many people in galling bondage. 

Christ saves with power into a glad sense 
of freedom. And we serve him, not of com- 
pulsion, nor in fear, but in the glorious liberty 
of a heart full of love. Then we are free from 
fear of man, or evil spirits, or life, or death, or 
anything whatsoever. 



THE VULTURE CHANGED INTO 
THE LARK. 




THE plan of this object sermon is to draw 
. on one side of white bristol, or cardboard, 
a large vulture, fifteen or eighteen inches high, 
and cut out closely. Crayon or color on this 
one side only, the wings and body a repulsive 
brown shade, the head a dirty pink. On the 
other side draw as follows : an American sky- 
lark within outline of vulture ; begin tip of 
lark's bill at lowest point of vulture's bared 
throat, and run up with proper curves to top of 
78 



THE VULTURE CHANGED INTO THE LARK. 79 

lark's head at back of neck of vulture ; the line 
describing the lark's back to tip of tail again 
corning to edge at proper place. Let bottom 
outline of lark start with bill at throat, and run 
gracefully down and out to edge just above vul- 
ture's tail, divided by lark's feet. Cutting care- 
fully along this lark outline, four pieces will 
come off; the head, breast, feet and tail, and 
back of vulture. After coloring the lark now 
on your card with wings a beautiful light brown, 
breast pinkish white, tail brown and white (see 
description in scientific works), turn card over, 
and, taking the pieces cut off, restore the vul- 
ture. Paste as many strips of thin paper as 
may be needed to hold all securely together, 
and color these strips in harmony with the rest. 
At the proper time you can tear off these pieces 
at the strips, and by quickly turning your object, 
the vulture is transformed into the lark. 

Now, boys and girls, see this ugly vulture, a 
filthy, carrion-eating, greedy, lazy bird. He 
waits until some dead animal is thrown out of 
camp, or lies along the road, and then pounces 
upon it, devouring the nasty flesh so greedily, 
and so fills himself with it, that sometimes he 
can hardly stagger away. He represents the 
sad condition to which sin will bring a boy or 
girl who follows it eagerly. To drink the dirty 



80 THE VULTURE CHANGED INTO THE LARK. 

slops called lager beer ; to chew tobacco ; to 
enjoy vile scenes and amusements ; to eat like 
gluttons, and soon to look bloated and repul- 
sive. They become vulture men and women. 
Every letter of this word tells us some horrible 
trait of their sinful character. V — voracious, 
U — unclean, L — lazy, T — treacherous, U — 
ugly, R — ruffianly, E — execrable. Let me 
explain these long words which describe the 
wicked vulture men so well with Bible stories 
and every-day people. 

What can we do with the vulture? We can 
not now teach him better, for his nature is bad, 
altogether bad. He must be converted, made 
into a new bird with a better nature. The bad 
head torn off (do so), the dirty feet and tail, and 
the repulsive, clumsy wings. Now see what we 
have ! A beautiful lark. The vulture himself 
could not change into this, but I helped him. 
So God must change the bad nature of man. 

Look at the lark. How clean and bright and 
active ! Rising early in the morning, drinking 
of the clear brook, eating nice grains or fruit, 
and- loving her young most devotedly. How 
the farmer loves the beautiful and sweet sing- 
ing lark ! So does everybody love the true 
Christian boy or girl. With pure heart, useful 
life, cheerful temper, singing nearly all the 



THE VULTURE CHANGED INTO THE LARK. 8 1 

time — who is not glad when the young Chris- 
tian comes ? 

He is the lark among the people he lives 
with, and is the L — lowly, A — aspiring, R — 
rejoicing, K — knowing child, at home and in 
school. 

Have you anything of the vulture nature ? 
Get it torn off by the Saviour and become like 
the beautiful and lowly bird of the morning 
sons:. 



HOW THE SERMON IS RECEIVED. 

The Parable of the Sower — Matt. 13. 

PRINT upon strip of white cardboard, " Come 
to Jesus to-day." This is your text ; you 
are to illustrate how it is received by different 
hearts. 

First, the looking-glass heart. Cut heart 
out of dark cardboard, fasten mirror as large 
as may be in it by strings or pasting strip around 
it. The text is held before this heart, and the 
immediate impression is good, but as soon as 
" out of sight, out of mind." The impression 
is on the surface, though it looks deep, and the 
next thing coming drives all out. So the way- 
side hearer ; so the heart hardened by the 
troops of evil thoughts and influences which 
have thronged over it. 

Next, the slate heart. Construct this of an 
old school slate, by pasting strips of white paper 
82 



HOW THE SERMON IS RECEIVED. 83 

around the outside of outline of heart on the 
slate, so as to leave bare a heart of slate. Now 
write with chalk, " Come to Jesus to-day." A 
better impression than the looking-glass heart, 
but how easily erased ! Here comes the rubber 
of strong temptation, of opportunity for worldly 
honor or enjoyment, and the impression is gone. 
This is the shallow heart, made so by frivolities 
and worldliness. 

The third is the preoccupied heart. Already 
full of selfishness, stubbornness, malice, revenge, 
envy, jealousy, or other heart sins. Take heart 
of white cardboard and write it full of evil, as 
above. Where can our text find place ? 

Now take a large white heart, cleared of all 
thoughts of evil. With pen and ink write in it 
your text. Here it abides ! Now draw heart 
garden on the blackboard, if you can — green 
pastures, still waters, fruitful trees ; or develop 
the good heart further on the card. 



DON'T BE A TOADSTOOL, BE A VINE. 




DRAW grape-vine on right of blackboard, 
with trellis, leaves, tendrils. Draw large 
bunch of grapes on separate card, and cut it out 
closely. This is to be pinned to vine later in 
your talk. 

Now, if you can, get half a dozen or more 
toadstools of different sizes, some ungainly and 
large, others pretty, others very small. Give 
to them names, and let them represent lives 
of selfishness and sin — satisfied with present 
character and attainments, not reaching out for 
84 



don't be a toadstool, be a vine. 85 

anything better or higher. If you cannot get 
the toadstools themselves, draw picture of one 
on the board, and by a little more effort make 
the impression of the self-conceit, narrowness 
and indifference of a sinful life. The toadstool 
has no leaves to take in the invigorating air and 
rain, no roots to draw strength from the soil, 
no tendrils reaching out for support for any 
progress higher. The sinful life does not get 
good from God's wonderful works around, and 
good influences so abundant ; it does not grow 
upon the deep truths of the Bible; it does not 
reach out its hands to hold fast to God. 

But how different the vine ! All aspiration, 
all reaching out. Its whole nature grows con- 
stantly, and its many leaves, all its faculties and 
senses, are open to every good impression and 
influence. Its roots strike down into the depths 
of experience and truth and power, and its ten- 
drils constantly reach out for still higher things. 
Then see the rich fruit it bears (pin grapes on 
vine). It is a branch of the true Vine, which 
grew out of heaven for all men to graft into. 



ROOFING THE HOUSE 

a 




i i 



DRAW outline of a two-story house without 
roof, but filling in as elaborately as you 
wish. The outline, though very plain, will teach 
our lesson's important truth. Draw lines irregu- 
larly over the open top to represent pieces of 
lumber lying loosely about. Cut mansard roof 
of right size out of white bristol board, to fit on 
this house. Crease the edges between front 
and the side of the house and around lines of 
top. It will appear embossed, and make a 
better finish. This roof is put on by a few 
86 



ROOFING THE HOUSE. 87 

tacks or pins, at the proper place in the dis- 
course. 

Here we have a fine two-story house left in 
a strange condition ; the lower part well fin- 
ished, but no roof on the house. How risky, 
and what great damage may occur by storms, 
rain, sun's heat, and even robbers getting in 
that way. 

So there are many people with strong physi- 
cal natures in the lower story of their house, 
good health, vigor and beauty of person ; and 
with good minds, well educated and able. But 
they are not Christians. Their souls are un- 
saved ; they have made no provision against 
the fierce storms of temptation, the heavy rains 
of trials and other perils to an exposed house. 
No carpenter, in building a house of wood or 
stone, would be so foolish. He hurries his 
building until it is roofed, and then takes time 
for more elaborate work. So let us get the 
roof on first. (Fasten on roof.) Now we have 
the third story, a saved soul, and we need not 
fear. 

Let the three windows in the roof represent 
faith, hope and love. Illustrate and enforce. 
" Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His 
righteousness, and all these things shall be 
added unto you." 



COMMON AND PRESSED BRICK. 

GET a half-dozen of each kind. Of the com 
mon kind get some very light and soft.. 

We are to see to-day the difference between 
being tolerably good and being very good and 
just right. Here are twelve bricks, which we 
call two large families or Sunday-school classes. 
I take three of each, and these fine, sharp-edged, 
smooth, beautifully-colored bricks I call Samuel, 
Daniel, Mary. These other three, easily broken, 
v/ith pieces out at edge and light-colored, I call 
Jacob, Nicodemus, Martha. 

Now all these are good. They were taken 
out of the old bed of clay, ground and cleaned 
of stones ; they were molded, dried, burned. 
So all of the persons I named are good. All 
have been taught and helped and saved by the 
Spirit. They have all been molded after good 
examples. But Jacob, Nicodemus and Martha 
have not yielded to be pressed into close like- 
88 



COMMON AND PRESSED BRICK. 89 

ness to Christ. They do not give full room to 
his Spirit in their hearts, but have a little sel- 
fishness, a little fear of men, and some jealousy 
left. Good in some respects, but with such 
faults as worldly people always stumble at. 
How sad ! 

But Samuel, Daniel and Mary are different. 
No pieces out at the edge, no roughness, no 
warping ; straight, square-cornered and just 
right. Put yourself into the mold of Christ's 
example and spirit, and become a pressed brick. 

Now how used ? Common brick back and 
inside of wall, pressed brick in front and con- 
spicuous. And all must be laid carefully united 
in what bricklayers call binding (show how it is 
done), and then joined by the cement of love 
into a solid and beautiful wall of the spiritual 
temple. 

The six bricks not named may now be used 
to impress upon those present, by using familiar 
names among them, the same great lesson. 
Urge them to be thoroughly good. Sincere 
means {sine, without, ccra. wax ; that is, honey 
without wax) without mixing of wrong. So be 
sincerely good. 



OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPEND- 
ENCE. 




rK 



JPROniSE 
ABSTAIN 




MAKE this a stirring and impressive ser- 
mon. Draw on the board, using a fourth 
of its surface from the right end, a large bottle 
and jug side by side labeled respectively " rum " 
and " beer." From a tack above suspend two 
strings with stoppers at end. On the other 
three fourths of the board draw an immense 
sledge hammer upraised. Cut two pieces of 
white paper (get at printer's), each large enough 
to cover this three fourths of the blackboard, 
but not hiding bottle and jug. On one of these 
print in large letters attractively arranged, "God 
90 



OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 91 

helping me, I promise to abstain." Tack this 
first over the hammer. On the other sheet 
print "Our Declaration of Independence," put- 
ting John Hancock's fac-simile signature below, 
and adding, either in fac-simile or in your own 
hand, Robert Morris, John Adams, Charles 
Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas Jefferson, John 
Witherspoon, Stephen Hopkins, Richard Henry 
Lee. These names will illustrate important 
points. 

Now we lift our Declaration and show you, 
"God helping me, I promise to abstain," and 
beneath it the great hammer of Prohibition, by 
which we will enforce it for ourselves and others. 
But first let the Declaration with these great 
names teach us some lessons for temperance 
work. On July 4, 1776, John Hancock alone 
signed it ; August 2 fifty-four others gave their 
names to it, and in November of that year Mat- 
thew Thornton, just elected, asked the privilege 
of putting his name to it, and then signed. 

We urge every boy and girl to sign the pledge 
as John Hancock did. See his bold brave name. 
He wished he could make it large enough for 
tyrannical King George in England to read it. 
We must have temperance boys and men, and 
women full of courage. It will require hard and 
long fighting to drive out alcoholic liquors, so 



92 OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

let every one have the spirit of grand old John 
Hancock. 

Charles Carroll is another brave name. He 
first wrote it Charles Carroll, and then some- 
body said there were several of that name, and 
he would be all right, for the cruel king would 
not know which of them it was. " But he shall 
know," said the brave patriot, and immediately 
added "of Carrollton," where he lived, so that 
there would be no mistake about who signed. 

Stephen Hopkins was an old man, whose sig- 
nature is trembling and wavy. But it was from 
palsy and not from fear he trembled. Holding 
his right hand, it is said, with his left, he wrote 
the name boldly. Oh ! for a large company of 
grand old men like Stephen Hopkins for the 
temperance fight — men who fear no loss to 
business, no ridicule or persecution, but have 
the courage of Hancock and Carroll and Hop- 
kins to overthrow rum and beer, the great 
tyrants of America to-day. 

Richard Henry Lee made the motion to de- 
clare independence, and Thomas Jefferson wrote 
the paper they signed. So we have great leaders 
to-day, like Miss Willard, Neal Dow, Theodore 
L. Cuyler, George W. Bain, John P. St. John. 

John Witherspoon is another great man who 
signed. He was very learned and earnest. He 



OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 93 

did not believe in waiting any longer, as some 
people tell us to wait to-day. He said, "The 
country is not only ripe for it, it is rotting 
for it." 

Benjamin Franklin knew how terrible the 
struggle for liberty would be, but he was cheer- 
ful and full of hope. He even cracked a joke 
about it. When they crowded up to the table 
to sign, he said, " Now we must all hang to- 
gether," repeating what another man had just 
said, "or we shall all have to hang separately." 
That is, the King of England would execute 
every man of the signers if they did not win in 
the Revolution. 

Robert Morris gave not only his name, but all 
his money to the good cause. The temperance 
cause must have our money, or it will never 
succeed. 

John Adams made a grand speech during the 
discussions, showing how he would give all his 
heart and even his life for the good cause of 
freedom. 

Now let us all sign our Declaration. This 
puts the stopper into the bottle and the jug. 
But the dangerous stuff is still there, and some 
one else will be tempted if we allow it to re- 
main. Let us lift the sledge hammer of Prohi- 
bition, and as they do in Maine, Kansas, Iowa, 



94 OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

the Dakotas, and in many counties in the 
South, break the bottles and jugs and barrels 
to pieces. 

Then will there be greater joy than that of 
the blue-eyed boy in 1776 who told his father 
to " Ring ! ring ! " the Independence bell. 



RAILROAD FROM HEART TO 
HEAVEN. 




DRAW a railroad chart with side track, 
switches, bridge over rushing stream, 
cut through hills. 

i. Building the railroad from Heart to 
Heaven. Some people have to cut through 
mountains of evil habits, fill up valleys of neg- 
lected duties, tunnel through doubts. But boys 
and girls have no such obstacles to begin with. 
95 



96 RAILROAD FROM HEART TO HEAVEN. 

It is a level country from their hearts to Heaven. 
And Jesus has bridged the great chasm there 
was left by sin in the world. 

2. Laying the rails. God lays the one all the 
way — his righteous will; the other rail is my 
will. These are held together by sills of faith, 
hope and love at every step, and made parallel 
all the way. There must be no crook, no 
spreading, no rail on our side missing, or great 
disaster results. We must obey God all the 
way. 

3. Watch the switches. There is one at the 
point of deciding for God just when we begin 
laying the rails. That opens to a track leading- 
downward to destruction. Here is one to a side 
track, here another to bad companionship, to 
questionable business, to vile reading. Open 
the track straight, and lock the switches. 

4. Right of way must be given to Christ and 
his cause. Side-track business and pleasure 
when necessary. 

5. Trains of precious and eternal interests 
are on the way. Keep the road in good repair. 
Have the signals right. Be on schedule time 
all the way. 



RECORD OF MY LIFE FOR 1893. 




GET half a dozen large white sheets of heavy 
printing paper. Fold in the middle to 
form a large book, and tack securely at this 
fold to the blackboard. Draw around this book 
heavy colored lines to form cover of the book, 
and tack the outer leaves at edges to look like 
inside of cover. A little skill will make it all 
look like a very heavy book with real cover. 
Now for the Record, which can be used for 
97 



g8 RECORD OF MY LIFE FOR 1893. 

general birthday lesson, for New Year's, or 
Quarterly Review, or Anniversary address. 

Cut two little hands out of white paper, one 
white and pure, the other spotted. Paste these 
to the top of the first page of your Record. 
Then in two columns suggest the many good 
deeds and the many bad deeds of the time cov- 
ered by the Record. If one bad deed only was 
done every hour how many are now recorded 
in the book of God against you for 1893 ? 

To the next page attach white and black feet 
at the bottom of the page, and in two columns 
suggest first the good places visited, and the 
sinful or dangerous resorts. Elaborate these 
vividly and earnestly : " The saloon, bad com- 
pany ; the church, Sunday-school." 

Then have a head on the top of another page. 
Cut out a large and beautiful child's head and 
paste it on. Speak of the bad and good words 
spoken, the good and bad words listened to, 
the things seen, and the thoughts of the brain. 

Another page for the heart record which God 
also keeps : affections, desires, motives and all. 

Now have three or four blank pages for the 
record to come. Here for the hands — good 
deeds or bad? For the feet — good places or 
bad ? For the head and heart ? Oh ! let us 
watch, and be true to God. 



THE LIFE OF JESUS. 

Candle Sermon. 




DRAW outline, topographical map or bird's- 
eye view of Palestine, with the Mediter- 
ranean Sea in front, marking only the important 
places Jesus visited during his life. To repre- 
sent his birthplace, take a cardboard three by 
three inches, and draw rude outline of manger ; 
attach to it so as to seem part of manger a 
support just large enough for smallest candle 
(Christmas-tree tapers). Make this of stiff 
99 



IOO THE LIFE OF JESUS. 

paper V-shaped, half-inch wide, bend out ends 
of V and glue these on securely. Have another 
card three by three with three crosses on it, 
and fasten a similar candle shelf on one of the 
crosses, so that when the little candle is lit it 
will represent the penitent thief. Another such 
card will represent the open sepulcher, leaving 
an inch space below which can be bent out and 
stone drawn upon this projection for little can- 
dle, to indicate the angel announcing the Res- 
urrection. These cards are to be tacked on 
blackboard at proper time by small tacks, so as 
to be easily removed. Two candle rests on 
blackboard, one at Nazareth and one at Jerusa- 
lem, complete the object picture. 

Our sermon to-day is on the Life of Jesus 
in Palestine — those wonderful three years of 
preaching and wonder-working, of suffering and 
blessed example, and the thirty years of his life 
before. 

(Tack manger card on Bethlehem upon black- 
board with little white candle, which now light.) 
Here we have Jesus in the manger, where he 
began his wonderful life on earth. See the lit- 
tle light shining ! The shepherds have heard 
of him, and soon will come to worship, and then 
go back rejoicing. The Wise Men from the 
East are on the way following the star, but it 



THE LIFE OF JESUS. IOI 

will be several months before they arrive, and 
then the babe Jesus will be in some house near 
by. How Mary rejoiced in her wonderful boy, 
who was also her Lord. What gifts the Wise 
Men brought ! 

Now we see Him at Nazareth until twelve 
years of age. (Take off manger card and light 
candle set at Nazareth.) Here He lived for 
thirty years a poor boy and hard-working young 
man, busy at the carpenter's trade, yet study- 
ing his Old Testament — which was all of the 
Bible then written — very diligently, and learn- 
ing all He could in that little town. At twelve 
years of age He visited Jerusalem. (Blow out 
candle at Nazareth, and light that at Jerusalem.) 
Relate story of finding Him in the Temple. 
Then He returned. (Candle at Jerusalem out 
and removed, that at Nazareth again lighted.) 
Eighteen silent years at Nazareth ! (Now get 
large white candle and light.) Now we have 
Him at thirty years of age. He goes down to 
the Jordan to be baptized by John, and then 
shortly after begins his ministry. 

Now move the larsre lighted candle back and 
forth upon the map, stopping at places, while 
you go into more or less detail of the journeys 
of Christ. A full account of each year may be 
given by using this object lesson for three or 



102 THE LIFE OF JESUS. 

more lectures, or a few incidents selected as 
time permits. 

Here is the end of the wonderful life in the 
flesh. (Tack on card with three crosses.) Tell 
the story of Gethsemane, of the several trials, 
of the crucifixion. One thief was saved be- 
cause he turned to Jesus in penitence and faith. 
(Light candle on thief's cross ; blow out large 
candle, and tack on, below, the sepulcher card.) 
Tell the story of the Resurrection. Here is the 
shining angel on the stone telling the women. 

After forty days Jesus ascended into Heaven, 
where he now prays for us at God's right hand. 
But in the spirit he is really here, and will be 
with those who love him to the end, 



THE SHIP OF LIFE. 

I CONSTRUCTED my own ship with such 
exercise of ingenuity as I could command. 
I used a paper box of proper shape, and by cut- 
ting down I got it into a tolerably good ship, 
with anchor, masts, etc., complete. It was 
worth to me ten times the cost of time and 
patience required. But you can buy a full- 
rigged ship of sufficient size for a small sum, 
so I will not further describe mine. 

Let the hull represent the heart, which will 
look like a heart by a little addition of scallop to 
stern. Xow how shall we load our ship of life? 
We want first a little Testament, a Catechism, 
the photographs of father and mother, pastor 
and Sunday-school teacher ; and Jesus waits to 
enter, but we cannot represent him by anything. 
The world cannot see him enter, but we know 
very well when he is on the ship. What a 
lous cargo we now have. See it again. 



104 THE SHIP 0F LIFE. 

Let the sails represent your faith, which must 
take in all the offered blessings, and have every 
promise, like every single sail, filled. Name- 
the sails by some well-known promises. 

Let the anchor stand for hope. We let it 
down in the storm, and are kept from being 
wrecked in despair. Everything seems to go 
wrong, but we anchor in hope, and fear not. 
Oh ! the power and inspiration of hope. 

But to-day our ship ought to have steam. 
We are living after Pentecost, when new and 
wondrous power is at hand. We must no longer 
depend only upon slow sails. We must be the 
best Christians that ever lived. 

Let the rudder of a disciplined will be guided 
by conscience, the pilot. 

And after awhile the ship will reach the 
haven, and bring a great cargo from this present 
life to promote eternal happiness. 



THE ICY PAVEMENT OF A BAD 
EXAMPLE. 

AN appropriate object for this talk will be a 
thin cake of ice on a tin waiter, and tiny 
dolls to show the difficulty and danger of walk- 
ing on it. A good talk for a sleety winter 
day. 

The icy pavement is made by neglect to re- 
move the slush left by bad weather, and its 
freezing afterward ; just as bad examples are 
made by neglect to remove unclean and danger- 
ous thoughts, desires and plans acquired from 
the world until another chilling wave of evil 
influences settles and fixes them. 

The icy pavement is on" the shaded side of 
the street. On the sunny side the danger of it 
is largely overcome. So bad examples are most 
hurtful when we live away from Christ in the 
shadows of questionable pursuits. Let us go 
over to the sunny side and we will not slip so 
105 



106 THE ICY PAVEMENT. 

frequently, and we can find a place where we 
may walk securely. 

The icy pavement is worst where many per- 
sons have already slipped, and right in front of 
that man's house who has allowed a thin fall 
of snow to hide it. Look out ! The bad exam- 
ple of a man otherwise good is the most danger- 
ous. A church member who drinks beer leads 
more people to ruin than twenty drunkards. 
The professing Christian who goes to dances 
and theaters is the one who sweeps snow 
over the most slippery places on his pavement. 
There people become careless, and get the 
hardest falls. 

The ashes of good advice will make the icy 
pavement a little safer. But we want the sharp 
shovel of thorough repentance and the hot water 
of Bible truth to clean it completely. 

Until that is done by the man with bad ex- 
ample, let us stay away from his influence. Let 
us walk on the sunny side where the ice is all 
swept off. Here we are safe. 



MISSIONARY LIGHTS OVER THE 
WORLD. 

Candle Sermon. 

DRAW hemisphere maps side by side on 
your blackboard, in detail only as re- 
quired by the number of fields your time will 
permit you to visit. Bend stiff paper into sup- 
ports for candles, and tack on board where 
needed. Strip of cardboard made V-shaped, 
and turned over with bottom out, and tacked 
above and below lightly, will hold one or two 
Christmas tapers, according to width. Soften 
bottom of candles over lamp, and they will ad- 
here to the supports. 

Since Jesus, the Light of the World, ascended 
into Heaven, he sends out the smaller lights, 
his people, to drive away the darkness which 
sin brought. These are to be set upon candle- 
sticks in every part of the whole world, and to 
107 



108 MISSIONARY LIGHTS OVER THE WORLD. 

shine with his light everywhere. This is the 
great missionary enterprise, the grandest work 
ever undertaken by man. And it has been 
wonderfully prospered by God's blessing. Let 
us visit these mission lights to-day. 

Four great lands stand out as the brightest 
spots in the darkness. Iceland, which in the 
year iooo established Christianity as the only 
religion, and where religion and education are 
more general than in any other land; Feejee, 
where James Calvert found all the people 
heathens and cannibals, and left all of them, 
with few exceptions, earnest Christians. What 
a bright light is there ! Madagascar, where the 
Gospel was first preached in 1818, and had won- 
derful success. Then came horrible persecu- 
tions, with many martyrs. Now again Christ's 
work in steady progress. Burmah, where Bap- 
tist missions had marvelous success. 

But we must also put bright candles into 
India, into Japan, China, Africa, where William 
Carey, William Butler, Dr. Duff, Dr. Morrison, 
Livingstone, Bishop Taylor, and many other 
heroes, carried the glorious light. Heathen 
customs which cast babes into the Ganges, 
burned the widow with the dead body of her 
husband, and ran the murderous car of Jugger- 
naut over a long line of human beings, have 



MISSIONARY LIGHTS OVER THE WORLD. I09 

been overthrown, and thousands of these people 
live in the love of Jesus. The Bible has been 
made to speak the language of these nations, 
and shines where every eye can see it. Hospi- 
tals, orphanages and schools are rising every- 
where, with Christian doctors, nurses and 
teachers. Great revivals, even, are coming into 
heathen lands gathering the multitudes in, as 
in Japan, India, and in some villages in China. 

Several brief sermons may be given from 
these maps with lighted candles, going into de- 
tailed history of each great mission field. Our 
children ought to be familiar with the great 
missionary heroes and their achievements under 
Christ. The influence of America and Protes- 
tant Europe in missions may be set forth by 
lighthouses of manilla paper, blocked out, in 
place. 



SIN BUILDING A HORNET'S NEST. 







THE boy or girl who begins a life of sin is 
building a hornet's nest, out of which 
will come, in the future, those terrible insects, 
to sting and destroy. Let us look at this nest. 
It may be some of you have commenced it. 

Hornets build on old rotten posts, or hide 
away from the light under the eaves of dwell- 
ings or stables, and on trees. So are sinful lives 
founded on rotten places, or in darkness. Here 



SIN BUILDING A HORNETS NEST. Ill 

on the blackboard is one hanging to three old 
posts, with a scantling nailed on top. The first 
post is S — selfishness, or saloon, in some cases ; 
the second / — indifference ; so full of the world 
and questionable pursuits and pleasures that he 
cares nothing for good ; the third N — neglect; 
saying to Christ " Not now," staying away from 
church, neglecting prayer and salvation. These 
three, SIN, as we have named them just now 
(repeat), are where the hornets' nests are built. 

Now look at the hornets' nest of sin. In the 
first place a hornet's nest never has any honey. 
Hornets make no honey ; they steal from the 
bees for their living. So the real pleasures of 
sinners are those which they get from good 
people ; from the love of good people, their 
kindness, and the joys of Christian civilization. 
If all men were selfish sinners there would be 
no honey anywhere, and all would be miserable 
indeed. Sin never brings anything good or 
happy. When sinners have happiness it is be- 
cause they live among good people, just as hor- 
nets get honey from the bees. 

Next lesson. Hornets seldom survive one 
winter. Out of one hundred and fifty — which 
is the usual number in a nest — only a very 
few are alive in the spring. They die early. 
So do sinners "not live out half their days." 



112 SIN BUILDING A HORNETS NEST. 

Wickedness undermines the health, troubles 
bring on disease, and bad men die early. 

But see the terrible hornets themselves. 
They are now large, with poisonous stings, 
very fierce and numerous. (Draw a number of 
hornets in different places on the blackboard. 
The hornet's nest is heart-shaped, without upper 
curves of heart, and looks as if covered with 
thin large paper scales. For a hornet it will 
be enough to draw a cross with arms equal, like 
plus sign (+), and add curved lines for wings 
above and below the horizontal arm ; or a very 
thin capital B with a straight line dividing it in 
the middle.) 

What are some of these hornets which come 
out of sinful hearts ? (Add double upper curve 
to hornet's nest so as to complete heart shape, 
and by long curve from tip to tip of wings make 
D's out of several little hornets.) They are dark 
D's — Delusion, Danger, Despotism. The sin- 
ner is deceived ; he fools himself, and Satan tells 
him lies. He is in dreadful danger all the time 
of losing his soul; he is under a galling despo- 
tism, a slave to evil desires, habits and feelings. 

Here is another swarm of hornets, dark D's 
— Doubt, Dread, Despair. No sure footing 
anywhere for the sinful traveler ; all is doubt 
and darkness ; he is full of fears, dreading loss 



SIN BUILDING A HORNETS NEST. II3 

of money, dreading disease, afraid of death ; 
he dreads the frown and ridicule of men, and 
thoughts of God make him quake for dread ; 
almost in despair now, and forever without hope 
if he dies in his sins. Oh ! how these terrible 
hornets sting the soul. 

But here is a swarm still worse — Dwarfing, 
Defilement, Disgrace. Stuns: while he was 
growing, his soul was dwarfed, and now in many 
things still a child, weak and deformed ; defiled 
by the poison of the fierce insects, how bloated 
he looks from strong drink and other wicked- 
ness ; and now in disgrace, a criminal on his 
way to the penitentiary. Oh! keep these hor- 
nets out of your heart. 

And the worst swarm is Death, darkness 
eternal. 

Remember it is a very difficult thing to clean 
out a hornet's nest. A boy or girl attempting 
it alone would probably be stung to death. I 
have heard of men stung to death by infuri- 
ated hornets whose nest they only accidentally 
disturbed. 

But Christ can clean out the hornet's nest of 
a sinful heart. He can kill all the thieving, 
quarrelsome, deadly insects. He can change it 
into a bee-hive full of sweetest honey. Will 
you ask him now to do it for you ? 



114 SIN BUILDING A HORNETS NEST. 

Remember, the hornet's nest is deceptive in 
appearance. It really looks beautiful without. 
You would want to play with it. But inside 
steadily the fierce insects are building cell after 
cell, constantly enlarging the outside, but always 
keeping up the good appearance. So on until 
winter comes. How much like the sinful heart ! 



THE STRONGEST DRINK. 




"«-v1^*^ 



D 



RAW a stream of water flowing through 
green fields ending in foreground with 
falls. Do not shrink from attempting to draw 
this and other lessons. A suggestion with a 
few bold lines of white, tinted bluish, will give 
the idea of a stream, or fresh-water brook. 

This is the strongest drink. It is strength- 
giving, not strength-taking. Alcoholic drinks 
give no vigor, but they whip up in unhealthy 
stimulation the flagging powers, only to leave 
"5 



Il6 THE STRONGEST DRINK. 

the whole system exhausted afterward, and 
diseased. 

It is this drink that gives the lion strength. 
(Have picture of lion cut out of toy books and 
pinned on board in green field. Tell some 
stories of the strength of the lion.) It gives 
the elephant his tremendous power to carry. 
And the tiger's terrible leap, and the deer's 
remarkable speed are not due to alcohol, but 
come from water, the strongest drink. (Have 
pictures of all these animals, and fasten in ap- 
propriate place selected beforehand on board. 
The artistic effect of the pictures when pinned 
on ought to be regarded before the lesson.) 

Who does not like fine horses ? What beau- 
tiful, strong, swift, intelligent servants of man ! 
And they drink no wine to get this beauty, or 
intelligence, or strength. See, I have several 
kinds of fine horses, the dray, the farm horse, 
the full-blooded carriage horse, but all are water- 
drinkers. So are the beautiful singing birds, the 
sweet flowers, the great trees. And men who 
want to do something unusual requiring strength 
and endurance must take to water. Athletes, 
racers, wrestlers, Arctic travelers, and all who 
require clear heads, tough muscles and steady 
nerves, drink nothing but water. What clear 
eyes, rosy cheeks, abounding health it gives ! 



THE CLOCK SERMON. 



d 







TO make the clock, get a paper box about 
thirty inches by twelve inches, and cut 
down to less than an inch in depth. Cut off 
upper twelve inches of lid, and hinge lower part 
with linen glued to box. Cut out and fasten to 
box an octagon frame for clock face, and have 
the face itself on separate cardboard a little 
larger than the circular opening, so as to stand 
inside. Hands can be cut out of paper, and a 
long tack through them into a cork stopper on 
117 



Il8 THE CLOCK SERMON. 

other side of clock face will wedge both clock 
face and hands in place. Draw. large heart in- 
side of box below, and paste large beautiful face 
of a child inside of upper part of clock back of 
clock face. Tack the whole "clock" to black- 
board from inside* below securely, and with 
crayon ornament it tastefully. Draw Bible near 
clock with wire from the skies regulating. This 

o o 

is the regulator for the clock of life. 

Here is one kind of clock which Dr. Holmes 
says might well represent a human life. "The 
angel of life winds it up for seventy years, and 
then gives the key into the hand of the angel 
of the Resurrection." 

There are many kinds of clocks which may 
represent different kinds of human nature ; the 
fussy little clock ticking so fast and nervously, 
the solemn old corner clock so slowly, the cheap 
nickel plate clock on street cars, the beautiful 
cathedral chime clock, the dignified official town 
clock — all sorts, all sizes, in cheap frames, in 
most expensive adornments. Go into a watch- 
maker shop and hear the rows of clocks tick. 
How fast this little one ! How seriously that ! 
Hear them strike ! Harsh, sharp, or sweet and 
charming in cathedral tone. So with people, 
their manner of moving about or working so dif- 
ferent ; their manner of talking so very unlike. 



THE CLOCK SERMON. I IO, 

But all clocks belong to one of only two 
classes ; the clocks which keep good time, or 
those which do not ; the good and reliable 
clocks or the bad clocks. So do all people be- 
long to one or the other of only two classes ; 
the people who regulate their lives by God's 
will, and those who do not. Other differences 
are of little account. The beautiful clock in the 
parlor is unreliable ; that cheap thing in the 
kitchen keeps excellent time. That is the one 
most looked at and respected. 

Now, how shall we make our clock keep time ? 
Can we do it by simply moving the hands back 
or forth to be right ? No ; for this will have to 
be done every hour. This is outward reforma- 
tion. The works are wrong, and it is simply a 
superficial change to turn the hands. There 
will not be much gained by it, and unless we 
have a good clock near by, we shall never know 
what is correct time. 

The works inside must be repaired and set 
right. So must human lives be set right from 
the heart. (Open the lower door and show the 
heart with " Love " in it.) Then it does not 
matter how plain the outside, nor how large nor 
small the clock may be, it will keep exact time. 

A train full of people came into a large sta- 
tion the other day. Right in front of them was 



120 THE CLOCK SERMON. 

the large clock which regulated the running of 
trains. As the men passed almost every one 
pulled out his watch to see whether it was right 
by that clock or not. So Jesus is the regulator 
for human lives. Let us stand before him and 
see whether we possess his spirit and follow 
his footsteps. 

The Bible is the clock face for us which is 
always right. Set your heart and life by it. 

(Now remove the clock face and show the 
child face.) Here is the little clock we love to 
look at. It is bright in the morning, full of 
love and smiles during the day. When we 
speak it turns very attentively, and out of those 
lips always comes the exact truth. Why ? See 
down below ! The works (the heart in lower 
part) are all right. 

What kind of a clock are you ? I don't care 
whether very ornamental or not, unless you 
keep good time, though it is nice to be bright- 
looking and good at the same time. But we 
want good clocks first of all. 



JACOB'S LADDER. 
Candle Sermon. 




LTSE blackboard lengthwise up and down. 
' Cut bristol board (white) at least two 
and a half feet long by one and a half feet wide, 
narrowing equally from both sides to three 
inches wide at top, like pyramid. Begin to fold 
into steps from small end with half-inch first 
fold, increasing the least trifle to about an 
inch for the last fold. Be careful to °;et each 



122 JACOB S LADDER. 

fold even across. This will form the stairs when 
tacked at each riser to blackboard. Leave a 
foot or more space below. Upon this we draw 
at one end of stairs a suggestion of a manger, 
at other side, the sepulcher. Fasten little sup- 
ports for candles (inverted V-shaped stiff paper 
half-inch wide tacked on board above and be- 
low) at manger and on stone in front of sepul- 
cher. Soften bottom of little candles over light 
and hold them until they adhere to these sup- 
ports, and upon the stairs use as many as will 
not look overcrowded. Use white, blue, pink, 
yellow. If you can draw, outline topographical 
map of Palestine, even barest outline, or sug- 
gestion of it ; the interest will be increased. 
The earthly support of the glorious ladder is 
the life of Jesus among men. 

I have a picture of an Eastern traveler which 
I pin on first at foot of ladder, while I tell the 
story of Jacob's dream. I then remove it, and 
call the ladder the way to Heaven. The foun- 
dations of it were laid in the Manger and along 
the whole life of Jesus down to the Sepulcher. 
(Light the candles at manger and sepulcher.) 
By his divine nature he made the way reach to 
God. Now see the good people upon it. Light 
the many candles on the way. It will be a most 
beautiful sight. 



JACOB S LADDER. 123 

Keep some candles in reserve. All kinds, 
broken, bent, dirty, green. But they come to 
Jesus in repentance and faith, and he changes 
them to white, blue, pink, like these (bring out 
the perfect candle and substitute for the others). 
Now these are also going upon the way. Here 
is one near the end. Hear the shout of victory 
over death ! So on, elaborate as you have time. 



HEARTS AXD LIVES OF LOVE 
AXD OF SIX. 

IF you have a revolving blackboard draw a 
heart on each side as large as the board 
will permit. If your board has only one side 
draw the two hearts side by side, filling the 
board. Into one, print in large plain capitals, in 
darkest brown shade, the word SIN. Sin in the 
heart, in affections, desires, motives, will soon 
show itself in the life, in outward acts. So we 
see it come out in many forms. (Erase the 
lines of the heart and let only SIN remain.) 
Here is how we see it, for we cannot look into 
men's hearts. What is sin ? (Change the 5 
into a great serpent by adding dark head and 
fiery tongue to top of 6* and by lengthening 
into a coil the tail.) It is a serpent, charming 
us by its glitter only to destroy. It deceives, 
it stings, it coils about us in deadly po 
What else is sin ? (Change / into a sharp 

1-4 



HEARTS OF LOVE AND OF SIX. 1 25 

sword.) Sin means guilty suffering, the sword 
of Divine justice. (Change Nhy adding thorns 
along its side.) It puts thorns into life, thorns 
into other's lives, thorns into a dying pillow. 
So we spell SIN, serpent, sword, thorn. 

Xow, take the other heart. Print LOVE 
into it in large, bright-colored capitals. So 
again the heart becomes invisible, and the life 
of Love appears. But Love must be also in the 
heart if the life is to show it. Let L stand for 
a little foot (draw it over L) busy in the errands 
of helpfulness and mercy. Let stand for the 
face of Love (draw eyes, nose, etc., inside of O) 
always bright, cheerful, winsome, speaking lov- 
ing and wise words. Let V be changed to 
represent arms stretched upward. The heart 
of love must mean a life of prayer to God. 
And E represents the hands stretched out to 
help high and low. (Draw hand over each end 
of E above and below.) " Out of the heart are 
the issues of life." 



MISSIONARY BATTLE FOR THE 
WORLD. 

GET a small globe with good maps, and 
fasten with small staples to center of 
blackboard. Hands are stretched out from all 
sides for the possession of the world ; Christian 
hands from the right, earnest, self-sacrificing 
and pure ; dark, evil hands to curse it from the 
left below. Among the dark hands are the 
rumsellers, the infidels, the greedy lovers of 
gold. What a struggle between these on every 
ship, barrels of rum in the hold, a missionary 
in the cabin. Thousands of volumes of bad 
books, millions of Bibles, tracts and religious 
works. Great cannons fire on one side, great 
cannons on the other. Eager hands reaching 
out to capture the world. 

But there are other hands stretched out that 
we do not see. (Have some black paper of the 
color of your board and tack this carefully, 
126 



MISSIONARY BATTLE FOR THE WORLD. 127 

making all as nearly invisible as you can over 
two hands you drew beforehand ; one beautiful, 
bright, with the nail print in it from above, and 
the other dark, frightful from below.) See, I 
lift the end of this paper, and, here from above, 
is the hand of the Saviour stretched out to save 
the world for which he suffered. And here be- 
low is the Demon hand determined to destroy. 
(Let the paper drop over these hands again.) 
These are the invisible hands helping on both 
sides in the great struggle. 

But let us not fear. Our Lord is mightier 
than all our foes. He has " all power in heaven 
and upon earth." In his name we conquer. 



THE SWEETEST PERFUME 3N 
THE ALTAR 




^ 



CUT out three sides of an altar in a single 
long strip of cardboard, fourteen inches 
by four. Crease at four inches from each end, 
leaving middle six inches. Cut the end sides 

: : :.. i : :: :J.'/ ' :.::_; :'::e ':~er ::rr.er "~v. :b is r.ex: 
to middle s i i e . : : the : positc up per corner. 

7;;.: :bis :: : '.: .:'.-::: :..':'. ':" fr:::: be*:~ ini by 
be:: ilr.^ :~ quarter ::::"- ;:::; :f ei:h sibe :-b :ve. 



SWEETEST PERFUME ON THE ALTAR. 1 29 

After tacking, bend the whole altar somewhat 

the left, and then complete the side in view 
by drawing lines on the board. Block out in 
imitation of stones and cut out a top to fit as 
the altar stands bent to one side. On this you 
can place the perfume which represents prayer 
incense. Con: :th flames and 

smoke above, and mountain below, on which 
the altar rests. 

Your sacrifice is now on the altar and you are 
before it to pray. Your prayer is sweet incense 
upon this altar. You bring it in a pure white 
cup (get gold band cup if you can; and pour it 
upon this altar. You have a strong, sweet per- 
fume made of a bouquet of flowers. What 
flowers shall bring their perfume ? One flower 
alone will not do. 

First, we must have the Lily, pure. You 
must be sincere and pure-hearted when you 
pray. Illustrate with Daniel's prayers. 

Second, the Rose, for love and earnestness in 
prayer; as Elijah and Jacob and the church 
praying for Peter, 

Third, the Forget-me-not, for gratitude. Oh ! 
what blessings we ousrht to be thankful for 
when we pray as David in the Psa] 

rf/i, the Morning-glory, early in the morn- 
is Jesus prayed, and often during day. 



I30 SWEETEST PERFUME ON THE ALTAR. 

Fifth, the Violet, for humility ; as the Publican 
in the Temple. 

What a sweet incense will the Lily, the Rose, 
the Forget-me-not, the Morning-glory and the 
Violet make ! Purity, love, earnestness, thanks- 
giving, first and last, humility, how God is 
pleased with it ! Then add great faith, and 
God will graciously answer. 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE 
BODY. 




WE do children a great favor when we 
early give them the Christian view of 
death. We may help them out of the terrible 
bondage of the fear of death, which has brought 
gloom into so many lives, even of Christian peo- 
ple. But the teacher ought not to attempt the 
lesson unless his or her own heart has learned 
how to triumph over this haunting dread of 
death. 

Our object is a model of a sepulcher made 
about ten by fifteen inches and a half-inch thick. 
131 



132 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 

Make it of a paper box about this size cut down 
to half-inch, and sew lid fast. Cut circular 
opening into lid about five inches in diameter, 
and tack fast to center of blackboard. Crayon to 
represent dark interior and stone outside. At- 
tach white little candle to inside of sepulcher, or 
two if you can without danger of setting fire to 
it. All this is to be covered with a large sheet 
of paper, slate color of blackboard, or if not, 
white paper will do. Upon this draw a grave 
with headstone, flowers, etc. 

Now begin with this outer picture. Tell of 
how sickness, alarming and distressing, comes 
to the home. How death, strange and irresist- 
ible, enters. Do not dwell too long or in any 
way harrowing to the children, but make it very 
vivid by a few suggestive details. Then the 
grave, how sad, yet how Love beautifies it with 
marble, flowers, visits it ! We have love here, 
may we have faith and glorious hope ? Let 
us look back of this grave. (Lift the paper.) 
Here was a grave in which was laid a wonderful 
body, our Saviour's. Tell of the crucifixion, 
the burial by Joseph and Nicodemus, the guard 
of soldiers, the stone, then the Resurrection. 
Here are two angels left in the tomb to tell the 
women He rose. (Do not attempt the really 
irreverent thing of showing how Christ rose, 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 1 33 

by a candle, etc.; the child's imagination will 
see infinitely more and be benefited. But the 
angels in light add impressiveness and point.) 
So Jesus left angels in the grave. We ought 
to see them in every grave. Some time all these 
bodies will rise in glory if we love Christ. All 
is light, no gloom, in death. 



TRAINING THE TREE. 

DRAW large and mature tree as beautiful 
as you can on right end of blackboard. 
On the left draw a thin sapling which is to be 
trained to become another such fine tree. We 
will build a tree-box around the sapling to keep 
it from growing crooked, and to prevent ani- 
mals from gnawing it. (Drive three very small 
staples around the front of your sapling on the 
board, one on each side, one on it in front. Of 
course the one back must be omitted ; say noth- 
ing about it. Take three pieces of pine, say 
half-inch thick by one and a half inches wide 
and of length appropriate to your drawing. 
Stick pins into bottom of these and they will be 
held in place at bottom by inserting into staples 
which will not be seen a little way off. Set 
these in one by one while you speak. Hold 
them together above by a cord loop fastened to 
little tacks on each side.) 
i34 



TRAINING THE TREE. 1 35 

Here is the side board " Home " which I put 
on first. It keeps our little sapling from grow- 
ing toward evil habits and bad companions. It 
keeps him straight a long time. On the other 
side is " School," a board we now put on and 
join to " Home " by_ this cord of love. The 
school and the home must work together — par- 
ent and teacher both loving the child and under- 
standing each other. Let us be thankful for 
the Public Schools. 

Here in front I put the board " Church of 
Christ," with its good Sunday school, its preach- 
ing services and prayer meeting and the help of 
good people. But back of our little tree we 
must have a board invisible, representing the 
care of our Heavenly Father. We do not put 
this up, we cannot see it, but it holds the sap- 
ling straight and makes it grow so symmetrical 
and strong. 

If you have no such tree-box, what a crooked 
tree your sapling of character will become ! Or 
the stock, or a vicious horse will eat it off while 
it is green and soft. 



MY SLING AGAINST PRESENT- 
DAY GIANTS. 




8P^ *e? 



z^^- 



CONSTRUCT an old-fashioned sling with 
two strings fastened to ends of elliptical 
piece of strong leather about five inches by two. 
For pebbles use loose paper balls covered 
smoothly with brown paper pasted together. 
Have five of these pebbles. Or, draw sling and 
pebbles upon blackboard. 

David heard of Goliath when he visited the 
army of Saul, and the Lord gave him courage 
and faith to go out to fight the giant. (Tell the 
story in detail vividly.) 

136 



PRESENT-DAY GIANTS. 1 37 

Goliath is dead, but seven sons of his are 
against children to-day. They take their initials 
from the letters of his name, GOLIATH. 
First is Giant Greedy, who makes children cry 
for the biggest piece of cake, or grab for the 
best things from brothers and sisters. What a 
disagreeable giant he is, and how many children 
he controls ! Next is Giant Overbearing, who 
makes tyrants of older brothers or sisters, and 
they order little ones about roughly. Then, 
Giant Lazy, big, sleepy fellow who takes the 
life out of children's legs and arms and makes 
them so slow and tired. And Giant Impudence, 
sharp-tongued, cross, saucy fellow. What a sad 
thing for the boy or girl he can command ! 
Then comes Giant Avarice, love of money to 
hoard it avyay. Stingy, mean, small-hearted 
and hard-hearted old giant. Fight him by being 
liberal for God's cause. Giants Treachery and 
Hateful are the last of the awful row. You 
know how men despise them and want their 
children to kill them. 

Bring out the pebbles from the clear brook 
which is the Bible. Here are five : a Promise, 
" He that overcometh shall sit with me on my 
throne ; " a Precept, " Resist the devil and he 
will flee from you ; " a Proverb, " Keep thy 
heart . . . for out of it are the issues of 



I38 PRESENT-DAY GIANTS. 

life ; " a Prophecy, " A little child shall lead 
them ; " a Parable, " He took a little child and 
set him in the midst of them." 

Let one string be Faith, the other Works. 
Put pebble into sling and cast at that giant 
who is after you. 



PLANTING THE CHRISTMAS-TREE 
IN THE HEART. 




DRAW heart lying on the ground on black- 
board. Let Christmas-tree rise from 
the center of this heart. Have the various ob- 
jects named below ready to pin on while you 
speak. 

First, we must dig a place for our tree by 

hearty repentance, confessing Jesus, with faith 

in him. Joining the Church is pressing the 

earth closely about the roots. Let the roots 

139 



I4O PLANTING THE CHRISTMAS-TREE. 

run all over the heart, with every part of it 
fertile soil. Our Christmas-tree is a living one, 
ever green and fruitful, too ; no such tree is 
found in the world. 

It is watered by the Holy Spirit, and God 
the Father keeps it pruned of dead branches, 
wild shoots and cobwebs. 

Is there candy on it ? Yes ; sweet cheerful- 
ness and good-will. Won't you taste it ? 

Is there tinsel on our tree ? Xo ; everything 
is purest gold, twenty-four carat fine. The joy- 
is gold, the peace is real, and every jewel is of 
the highest purity and value. Indeed, there is 
no price can be set upon them. 

Is there fruit on the tree ? Yes ; nine manner 
of fruits grow upon it all the year. Paul found 
every kind, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gen- 
tleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. 

Are there bright emblems upon it ? Yes ; 
here is the anchor of hope, the staff of our 
Shepherd, the banner of holiness, the sword of 
the Spirit, the crown of righteousness, and many 
others. 

Shall we have lights on it ? (Fold stiff paper 
half inch wide V-shaped, bend out ends of V, 
and tack lightly with very small tacks above 
and below to figure of tree on the board. Have 
several such candle supports. Soften bottom 



PLANTING THE CHRISTMAS-TREE. I4I 

of candle over light and hold it on the support 
until it adheres.) Yes ; here is one light. See 
how it shines for home. Another, a white and 
beautiful one, for the church. Here are others 
for the school, for good books and papers, etc. 

Shall we have a stocking on our tree ? Yes ; 
and we will call it Prayer. A large stocking to 
show our great faith. If yours is small, get one 
of grandma's or older brother's, and God will 
fill it. 

Now, we ought to have a fence of watchful- 
ness around the heart to keep the soil of bad 
thoughts and desires outside. (Draw it if you 
can or let the children imagine it.) 

The thoughtful leader will know how to fill 
out these suggestions with anecdote, Bible story 
and present application. 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 




ySr*r% 



THIS lesson aims first to explain and to 
apply to child life the Decalogue ; then 
to show the importance of having them on the 
heart, and finally to change into having them 
written in the heart and kept with Christ's 
Love filling the heart. We take the last first 
in describing the object to be employed. Cut 
large heart two feet and a half high, if possible, 
out of cardboard and cover with pink paper, on 
which draw, in deeper red lines, the tables of 
the law, using the upper curves of the heart for 
the tops of the stones and dividing line through 
the middle. Number in same red color. Print 



142 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. I43 

across the heart " Christ's," and below, "Love," 
first table, "To God," second "To man." 

Now construct of white bristol board a double 
table with Roman numbering in black, as large 
as can be got into the heart, again conforming 
to upper curves of the heart. Cut off sides of 
heart extending beyond this carefully, and also 
the bottoms. Hinge these pieces with strong 
glue and linen on back so that they will fold in. 
Use blackboard, nailing the heart in the middle 
so that flaps can be folded in and easily taken 
out. Fold in the heart so that nothing but 
your white tables of the law are seen when you 
commence. (You can hang this outer card on 
nail or pin it securely over heart.) Complete 
blackboard with drawing mountain scenery 
around the tables of the law. 

Here among these mountains (if you have 
mountain scenery) came to Moses from God's 
own hand, some wonderful rules of right living. 
We call them the Ten Commandments. Deca- 
logue is a name often used for them, which we 
want you to remember, so that you will always 
know what it means : Deca, ten, logue, from 
logos, word — ten words of God. These com- 
mandments or prohibitions — for eight of them 
tell us rather what not to do — were writ en on 
two tables of stone bv God's own finsrer. The 



144 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 

first table contains four commands ; let us look 
at these a moment. 

I. " Thou shalt have no other gods before 
me ; " that is, God must have the first place 
in our hearts and lives. When you love Sunday- 
playing better than God, or love bad company 
or bad books or thoughts better, or indulge in 
any sin, you break this law. 

II. " Thou shalt not make unto thee any 
graven image, etc." Worship God in spirit and 
in truth, not in pictures or statues or mere forms. 

III. " Thou shalt not take the name of the 
Lord thy God in vain." Swearing and thought- 
less use of God's name is a sin. 

IV. " Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it 
holy." " I forgot " is no excuse, for the com- 
mand is to remember. Remember it on Satur- 
day so that you do all your work and leave the 
Sunday free. " Keep it holy ; " a day of rest 
from work so that spiritual things may be at- 
tended to, not for lounging or idling. 

The second table has six commands : 

V. " Honor thy father and thy mother." 
Honor means obey, love, respect. Both parents 
are mentioned. And then the father was also 
the ruler, the priest, so it means obedience and 
honor to all authority in state, home, church, 
school. 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. I45 

VI., VII., VIII. "Thou shalt not kill — 

commit adultery — steal." The highest crimes 
and sins against life, purity and property are 
mentioned, but all other sins against these are 
included. To shorten life by neglect or abuse is 
really killing ; to have vile and filthy thoughts, 
Jesus said was breaking the command ; to over- 
charge, to work dishonestly, and to take un- 
just though legal advantage for gain, are also 
stealing. 

IX. "Thou shalt not bear false witness 
against thy neighbor." Lying is forbidden, 
especially as affecting the reputation or good 
name of another. 

X. " Thou shalt not covet." Here is where 
all sin commences : in a desire to have what 
belongs to another, unjustly or without paying 
for it. 

What great commandments ! How shall we 
keep them ? 

We must hang- them upon our hearts. See 
how I do it ! (open out flaps). Now we love 
these commandments. Here is C at the side, 
for conscience — a conscientious heart ; 5, for 
saved — a conscientious and saved heart full of 
love must have these upon it. 

But more than that, we may have them 
written in our hearts. So we lift off the stone 



I46 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 

tables and now they are engraven deep within. 
And Christ's love fills our hearts so that we 
fully keep all his words. 

The Commandments tell us to do no harm, but 
with Christ's love we are still better. We not 
only keep from harming people, but we do them 
good. The positive blessings of love are scat- 
tered by our hands. Who, then, will have the 
Ten Commandments written by the Spirit in 
his heart ? 



THE HANDS' SERMON. 

TWO large hands of cardboard ; one, pure 
white, the other spotted and dark. A 
number of little hands of different sizes from 
baby's up, cut out of white cardboard. Here is 
one each for you six little children in front. 
Hold it up ! Look at the large hands I have 
cut out. Your little hands will become dark, 
unclean like this, or be made and kept white 
like the other. Which shall it be ? You work 
with your hands, and if you do wrong your 
hand of character becomes spotted ; if you 
steal, or fight, or are lazy, it blackens. And 
soap won't wash it clean. Only God in answer 
to prayer can make it white. 

What is the black hand like ? Brutal, Lazy, 
Avaricious, Cowardly, Knavish. 

What is the white hand ? Willing, Helpful, 
Industrious, Trusty, Endeavor. 

Comment upon these characteristics, using 
H7 



I48 THE HANDS' SERMON. 

blackboard if you have it handy. In all lessons 
use Bible characters liberally with questions 
like the following : Who had the brutal hand ? 
Herod. Lazy ? None I know of in the Bible, 
for lazy men are never heard of after they 
die. Avaricious? Judas. Cowardly? Pilate. 
Knavish ? Absalom, though a prince. 

Be sure to use modern history as well, for 
children above all must be helped to realize 
that God's day and rule in the world did not 
end with Bible history, and that persons and 
events to-day have significance in his work no 
less than in Bible times. 

Make close application of this lesson to cur- 
rent society. in the order of the above 
acrostic ot the black hand the worst who have 
it are murderers, drunken paupers, misers, cor- 
rupt politicians, robbers of trust funds ; but 
those who neglect or abuse wife and children, 
who will not work, who refuse to give to good 
causes, who will not always defend the right, 
and who do anything mean, have many black 
spots on their hands. "Who shall stand in His 
holy place ? He that hath clean hands and a 
pure heart." 



YOUR CROWN. 

EVERY child who follows Christ has a crown 
set apart for him or her. (Draw a crown 
near top of blackboard at the middle. Provide 
yourself with a iot of little gilt stars to pin or 
tack on at the proper time in the lesson. This 
will be enough, but if you can draw clouds be- 
low and surrounding the crown, and a landscape 
below, it will add to its effect.) This crown is 
more glorious than that of any prince, for often 
the prince does not deserve the crown, but here 
it is a crown of righteousness, of purified and 
matured character. It is a far better crown 
than the diadem of great generals and con- 
querors, for theirs often is for killing men, but 
this is for saving them ; a crown of life in every 
respect. It is better than the laurel crowns of 
Greece ; they were for mere success in one effort, 
but this fades not away and is for a lifetime of 
right doing. Peter probably saw many faded 
149 



I50 YOUR CROWN. 

crowns of laurel, olive, parsley, or pine won at the 
games, and the brown, brittle leaves sacredly 
kept. 

There is a way of making our crowns most 
wonderful in glory. Every time we bring some 
one to Christ a star is added to it. (Fasten one.) 
Here is the crown of one who has brought his 
father and mother, two sisters and a brother to 
Jesus. (Put four more on crown.) 

Think of those like Mr. Charles G. Finney, 
like Mr. Moody, or Luther, or Wesley, who 
have thousands of sparkling stars in them. 
Think of Peter, John and Paul. What crowns 
they will have ! 

There was the little maid in Naaman's house 
who directed her master to God's prophet. 
What a bright star in her crown ! 

Read 1 Peter v. 4 ; 2 Tim. iv. 8 ; I Cor. ix. 
25 ; James i. 12 ; Rev. ii. 10 ; Rev. iii. n, by 
giving slips to the children and having them 
recite or read the beautiful verses. 



BUILDING MY ALTAR TO-DAY. 

TAKE twelve blocks of wood about six 
inches by three inches, and two inches 
thick. These will build your altar. If four of 
the blocks are cut oblique at end, the altar will 
look more tasteful. Take lid of brown paper 
box about twelve by eight, and by cutting down 
rim gracefully toward middle of each side, you 
can leave horns for the altar, and the lid set on 
top of the " stones " will form a receptacle for 
the gifts you put upon the altar. These gifts 
are also objects to be constructed in most cases. 
Now, we build our altar for God's service to- 
day. We desire to learn of the past, but also, 
to face all our new duties and opportunities to- 
day. This altar has twelve stones, not now 
representing the twelve tribes of Israel, but let 
us call this stone, the Missionary Society ; this 
stone, Temperance ; and so on successively, 
Church Extension, Freedmen's Aid, Bible 
T 5* 



152 BUILDING MY ALTAR TO-DAY. 

Society, Sunday-school, Missions, Tract Society, 
City Missions, Christian Endeavor, Education, 
Woman's Missionary Society, King's Daugh- 
ters, etc. (When speaking for any particular 
society it ought to be emphasized, but always 
in proper relation to other great church benevo- 
lences. Nothing is gained permanently for any 
society which is built up at the expense of other 
important interests. The reaction from such 
unwise advocacy will do great damage to your 
society.) These great interests form the altar 
before which we stand to make our offerings to- 
day. They represent the holy altar, Jesus, in 
his various activities to save men. 

What shall we lay upon this altar ? First, 
our hands (lay little white hand of cardboard 
upon altar), to work in these causes ; to do all 
we can to forward them. Next, our feet (lay 
little foot on altar). These movements require 
much visiting and traveling. People must be 
called on and argued with, meetings must be at- 
tended, sometimes long journeys must be made. 
So we give our feet to Christ's work to-day. 
And our minds (have little candlestick with 
lighted little candle), to these various great 
movements to save men. And our hearts (lay 
heart of love on altar), to love Christ and all 
his works. We lay also the crown (a gilt crown) 



BUILDING MY ALTAR TO-DAY. 1 53 

of our best attainments and influence on Christ's 

altar. 

Shall we put money upon it ? Yes ; according 
to our ability, very liberally. Hundreds and 
thousands of dollars when we can ; smaller 
amounts when it is impossible to give the 
larger. The widow's mite and the millionaire's 
millions must be laid side by side. (Put dollars 
in silver and some notes on altar.) 

Shall we put books, papers, good liter- 
ature, etc. ? Yes ; all we can purchase. And 
labor specially to lay millions more of precious 
Bibles on the altar for Christ's sake. 

How full an altar even by the gifts of a little 
child ! How great and glorious the work of a 
thoroughly consecrated child may be ! 

" I beseech you therefore by the mercies of 
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacri- 
fice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
reasonable service." 



THANKSGIVING DAY. 




CONSTRUCT a large cornucopia and tack 
it gracefully to the center of the black- 
board. Complete design, if desired, with sur- 
rounding landscape sketch, leaving cornucopia 
larger than the lofty mountains. Fill the " horn 
of plenty " with United States flag, map of 
our country, picture of home, portraits of baby, 
mamma, papa, a bill of daily fare, Bible, star, 
anchor, cup, crown and other emblems of 
blessings. 

See, boys and girls, how bountifully God has 
blessed us ! His horn of plenty crowds our 
T 54 



THANKSGIVING DAY. I 55 

daily life with good things. Let me show you 
a few. Here is the flag which typifies our good 
laws and protection of life, liberty and property. 
How thankful we ought to be that we live under 
the stars and stripes ! Here is a map of our 
country which reminds us of our marvelous re- 
sources of fields, and mines, and manufactures. 
How can we praise God enough for all these ? 
But here is home ; who can measure the value 
of that ? And baby, dear baby ; mamma and 
papa, brother and sister; here is bill of daily 
fare, good enough for a king. We thank God 
before we eat it, and here we thank him again. 
Here is the Bible, which Queen Victoria said is 
the secret of England's greatness, and is just as 
really the light by which we have found liberty 
and prosperity. Thank God for the Bible, and 
the cup running over with other blessings, the 
anchor of hope and the crown promised to us. 
We look all around, and everywhere reasons 
to be thankful crowd upon us. The past, with 
wise leadings of God's hand and blessings all 
the way ; the present, with its innumerable good 
things and high privileges, and the future, 
which will be best of all. Let us be thankful 
that, unlike the ancient peoples, our best is not 
in the past, but is yet to come. It is always 
better farther on. 



THE CUP SERMON. 

" My Cup Runneth Over. 91 

GET all kinds of cups, china, tin, silver, 
large, small, odd, broken-handle or nicked, 
old-fashioned, finely decorated. Let these rep- 
resent all kinds of human nature we invite to 
the well of salvation. You can build the well 
by taking a large bucket and putting it into a 
larger paper box, using moss or sod around it 
skillfully to cover part of box, upon which 
crayon rocks, grass, etc. Let down a beautiful 
white pitcher with a cord, prayer, into this well. 
Now form a Sunday-school class of the little 
cups, using about six. Here is large cup for 
teacher who wants water of salvation ; here are 
two scholars who pray for it and are filled. 
This little one, dirty, nicked, unpromising out- 
side, is clean within, and now the pitcher fills it 
also. Here is a fine decorated cup who will not 
J 5^ 



THE CUP SERMON. 157 

have the clear sweet water from the pitcher, 
but takes some slops of questionable pleasure. 
How foolish she .is ! Here is the silver cup 
following her evil example, and also filled with 
water unfit to drink. What a time the teacher 
has to get them to pour out this bad stuff and 
to pray for the refreshing draught ! But now 
they come ! Let us praise God. They are first 
emptied, then cleansed, then filled. (Use moist- 
ened sponge to clean cups.) 

Here is a family of cups. Big cups, father 
and mother ; tin cup for big boy ; pretty little 
cup for the baby; two cups just alike for the 
sisters. The parents are Christians, and their 
cups are running over ; the tin cup has had 
many indifferent things in it, and some bad ; 
but see, it is held out for the pure and life- 
giving water ! 

So by taking typical cases, by anecdotes, by 
Bible illustrations, many impressive lessons are 
in the cups. Have some to represent the drunk- 
ard, some the poor neglected street boys, etc. 

Let the grease spots which can only be 
cleansed by hot water and soap, represent sins. 
But Jesus can cleanse the worst. 



WHAT COMES FROM THE BEER 
GLASS ? 




FOR this Temperance sermon we need an 
object resembling an immense beer glass 
on the blackboard. It can be made of a strip 
of manilla wrapping paper twelve inches by six 
inches. Bend this so as to arch outward from 
the blackboard, and tack ends bent inward to 
board. Crayon the rest of circular top of glass, 
and the handle to it, and color all properly. A 
little paper pushed inside will form bottom. 
15S 



159 



Gather all the newspaper scraps of Rum's 
terrible doings ; all scientific facts of the harm- 
fulness of alcoholic drinks. Write on slips 
of paper the notable men who have been de- 
stroyed by strong drink. Use statistics, facts 
of personal observation, Bible denunciations of 
drunkenness, warnings ; the saddest and most 
thrilling facts you can gather. Put all these 
into the cup and draw out while you speak as 
many as you can use, with lively comment upon 
each. 

What a terrible cup — a Pandora's box of hor- 
rible evils ! W T e can enumerate some of these, 
but only those who have had clear ones actually 
enslaved, or in torture from them, can measure 
them. Often as in the marble group, the La- 
ocobn, father and sons, are all encoiled by ter- 
rible serpents, vainly struggling with the power 
of fiery appetite. Oh ! let us pray for these poor 
victims, and dash to pieces the cups of demoniac 
horrors. 



EASTER. 




DRAW a large sepulcher on the blackboard 
with bright light in brilliant colors in- 
side. On bottom frame fasten two small brack- 
ets to extreme right and left. Place an egg 
upon one and a rabbit upon the other. 

What dark sad days were that Friday and 
Saturday on which Jesus died and lay in the 
sepulcher ! There was probably never a sorrow 
quite so shocking and terrible as that of the 
disciples. Death came to them in the most 
awful and horrible form, and took the One who 
1 60 



EASTER. l6l 

was All and in all to their hearts and lives. Was 
there ever a tomb so dark as that tomb on the 
first Good Friday ? But now what a glorious 
light is in it ! Two angels are there, and they 
say : " He is risen ! He is not here ! Come, 
see the place where He lay." So Jesus left 
for us in every grave a bright angel of glorious 
hope. 

The animals, we are told in a pretty legend, 
wanted to spread the tidings of the Resurrec- 
tion, and they deliberated as to what animal 
would be best fitted to carry the good news. 
At last they chose the rabbit because he had 
two of the best qualities, he was so gentle, and 
he could run so swiftly. Wasn't it a good 
choice ? 

The Qgg is a wonderful emblem of the Resur- 
rection. How like a cold, closed-up grave it is ! 
And all inside seems dead. But what a stir 
there is now. Listen ! peep, peep ! in a low 
voice ; then a hole pecked through, and out 
comes a little chick or a birdlet — a creature of 
beauty and song and flight up into the heavens, 
it may be. 



WHAT TRAINING WILL DO. 




DRAW uncultivated thorn rose, with one 
pale circle of pink corolla, growing at 
roadside. This at middle of board -near the 
bottom. Then have two roads run from this, 
the one to a beautiful rose on the left, the other 
to an apple-tree loaded with fine fruit on the 
right. If you cannot draw the tree, an outline 
apple will do ; and if the rose is beyond your 
skill, cut one out of a picture, and pin or tack it 
in place. The objects, a beautiful rose and a 
162 



WHAT TRAINING WILL DO. 1 63 

fine apple, might be held in the hands succes- 
sively while preaching to the children. 

The simple little rose may become the mag- 
nificent flower, in wondrously beautiful color ; 
so may we grow into glorious character. Faith, 
courage, purity, love, earnestness, each in many 
leaves in our heart, will excel the finest rose in 
any garden in loveliness and sweetness ; but 
only when we call in the skill and patience of 
the Heavenly Florist and are willing He shall 
go ahead with us. 

The apple, also so luscious and useful, bot- 
anists tell us, comes from the same stock as the 
pale little rose. It is a rose in another form. 
So can we be trained to greatest usefulness. 
We need not choose between becoming rose or 
apple, for spiritually our poor flower may at the 
same time become both. " Worship the Lord 
in the beauty of holiness," 



COMPANIONSHIP IN 
SALOON. 



HOME OR 




DRAW on the blackboard a home, with 
front entirely open, showing interior of 
room having fireplace ; in same way, in darker 
colors, a saloon, front open, showing bar with 
two glasses on it, and shelf back, with bottles. 
Construct of white cardboard a shelf to tack on 
in front of house, extending the room, on which 
to place candles representing father, mother, 
164 



COMPANIONSHIP IN HOME OR SALOON. l6$ 

children, using different colored little candles. 
Also, tack shelf to form porch or extension of 
bar-room in front of saloon. You need also 
little blocks with figures on one side. The toy 
stores have boxes of soldier blocks cheap. 

Here are home and saloon in terrific battle 
for the possession of the boys of America. 
Sixteen hundred saloons in Philadelphia, nine 
thousand in New York, and a corresponding 
number in other large cities abusing the sacred 
ties of friendship, playing upon evil appetites, 
and by every means seeking to make men 
drink. . Here are a row of young men in front 
of the bar (put five blocks a short distance 
apart). The first treats the rest to beer; the 
second thinks it would be mean not to do 
the same, and so on, until each poor fellow 
has five drinks. See the first strike the row 
until all are down. Then the first rises, and 
after awhile all are up again. Again the first 
strikes them with his evil influence, and now 
one is so near the edge that he falls deep 
into crime, or meets with accident and dies. 
How many dark crimes are committed in the 
first drunken spree ! How many fatal diseases 
contracted, or accidents met with, in the first 
debauch ! Dr. Richardson says that the brain 
probably never entirely regains its subtle balance 



l66 COMPANIONSHIP IN HOME OR SALOON. 

after being once thoroughly intoxicated. We 
would all fear concerning a man who had once 
been insane, and this is what drunkenness really 
means. 

Here are some soldiers who would not go 
with this drinking company (set a few on the 
table). See, I bind them together with the 
pledge (use rubber band around the three or 
four together), and now the tempter to strong 
drinks cannot overthrow them. They soon 
have another stronger bond of fellowship in 
being Christians in the same church. See 
them save one and another of the young men 
who fell into drink, and bind them in the same 
holy ties ! 

Now let us turn to the home. The little 
candles, mother and father, are brightly shining, 
and some of the boys and girls are good Chris- 
tians. But father loves beer, and the little jug 
comes out and soon extinguishes his light. He 
is now seldom at home, and how earnestly the 
mother and children pray for him. Here is one 
of the boys, a green one, following him to the 
saloon. Poor fellow ! he is breaking his mother's 
heart. The dear little child here in white went 
once to the saloon and brought father and brother 
home. Then they promised to stop drinking, 
but only in their own strength ; and now to-night 



COMPANIONSHIP IN HOME OR SALOON. 167 

they are in the old dark place again. How sad ! 
Oh ! how many such homes there are in the 
world. Let us pray for them now. 

But their prayers are answered. Father is 
back, not dark and crooked as he was, but a new 
creature (get a clean white or blue candle), and 
the home is so happy again. The poor boy, 
however, keeps on drinking until he takes very 
ill ; consumption sets in rapidly, and he dies in 
a few weeks. The mother has hope that he is 
saved. The father never ceases to blame him- 
self for the poor boy's fall, and how earnestly 
he tries to atone for his terrible sin by trying to 
save other boys who have commenced drinking. 
Already he counts nearly a dozen thus saved 
and doirig well, and he is giving his whole life 
to this good work. And in every good way he 
labors to close up every saloon forever. Will 
you help him and other good people in this 
battle ? 



FAITH AND WORKS. 




DRAW two wings stretched upward a short 
distance apart ; two oars below them 
forming open V toward the right. One wing 
is Faith, another Works. If Faith is crippled, 
Works flutter and soon come into the dust. If 
a holy and useful life of works is neglected, like 
one broken wing, it soon brings Faith down. 
Only with both these wings can the soul mount 
toward God. Faith is the left oar, Works the 
1 68 



FAITH AND WORKS. 1 69 

right, and only with both can the boat move 
forward. The difficulties of doing good among 
men are a strong current, and without such 
faith in God as secures power, and such zeal 
and purity before men as win their respect, the 
boat will spin round and round, or drift help- 
lessly downward. What would be thought of 
the boy who professes great love for his mother, 
but breaks her heart by his wicked life ? Or 
the daughter, profuse in caresses, but entirely 
neglectful in helping the work at home? Such 
love and faith in mother will soon exist only as 
a dead skeleton of its former self. 

Draw faint outline of bird in proper relation 
to the wings, and now complete it. " Thus 
mount up with wings as eagles." 

The two hands are also an excellent illustra- 
tion. Do not be one-handed, for there is very 
much in the world that a one-handed man can 
never do. But stretch the left hand of faith 
upward to God, and receive fullness of bless- 
ings ; stretch the right hand tc distribute and 
help. 



READY FOR EITHER ALTAR OR 
YOKE. 




O^QSC 




DRAW large altar on left side of blackboard 
with flames and smoke ascending ; con- 
struct, or have made, a model of a yoke about 
eighteen inches wide, with bows, pins, chain 
and hook. Hang yoke on tacks on right side 
of blackboard, letting the chain extend down to 
where you draw front of plow just coming out. 
Chain can be hooked on here with small tack. 



READY FOR EITHER ALTAR OR YOKE. I/I 

Here, boys and girls, is the true Christian 
spirit, willing, like a brave soldier, to die for 
Christ, or to live for him in the hardest kind of 
service. Many people have died for Christ. 
The roll of martvrs is a long and glorious one, 
including some dear little children, who chose 
to die for Christ rather than go back to idolatry ; 
one, Agnes, aged thirteen, about 310 A. d., 
Denisa, only sixteen years of age, about 250 
a. d., a little boy, Hilarion, 304 A. d., and many 
still younger, with their Christian parents, 
in the terrible persecutions of former years. 
Stephen was the first martyr, then James, and 
all the Apostles, it is said, but John. Paul was 
beheaded at Rome. Brave soldiers of Jesus ! 

But we will live for Jesus if we have no 
opportunity of dying for him. And it requires 
as much love and devotion to live as to die for 
him. Here is his yoke. Jesus says it " is 
easy," his burden is light. The yoke is for two, 
one of whom always is Christ. It is our cov- 
enant bond to him. The bows represent love; 
the pin on our side, faith ; on Christ's side, 
precious promises. How great are these; how 
they cover all our needs ! The love of Jesus, 
who can measure ? 

The chain is our consecration ; the hook the 
will. Now, are you yoked with Christ ? Daniel 



172 READY FOR EITHER ALTAR OR YOKE. 

was thus joined to him, and Paul and all the 
great servants of God were. Ruth yoked herself 
to her mother-in-law's God, and was ready to 
live or die with him. Now, have the hook 
strong, and hold fast. We want here many 
beautiful and useful lives for Jesus, the Saviour. 



OLD RAGS MADE WHITE AS SNOW. 

OBJECTS needed are a bundle of old rags 
soiled and torn, and several sheets of 
large white paper. These old rags represent 
the old sinful nature of a young man who has 
gone into bad habits of drinking, swearing, 
gambling, dishonesty ; or of a girl who has be- 
come disobedient to her mother, and proud, 
selfish and peevish. (Put old rags into rude 
shape of a heart.) See, their hearts are like 
this old bundle of rags, full of sin spots, torn by 
evil desires, like wild beasts. How sad this is ! 
Look at Absalom, at Ahab, or Herod, Gehazi, 
Judas. Or at many not so terribly wicked, yet 
having many spots of evil, and torn and vile by 
envy, spite, jealousy. 

What can be done with Old Rags ? He can 

be made white as snow. See, I have what was 

Old Rags here in this pure white paper. But 

Old Rags must be willing to be broken up and 

i73 



174 OLD RAGS MADE WHITE AS SNOW. 

have an outside power to change him. Nothing 
good in him of fiber and real worth is destroyed ; 
only the dirt and vileness. So does Christ 
change those who are willing to permit him to 
do it. He cleanses sin from the heart, but all 
good natural traits are made stronger and bet- 
ter. Oh ! what a change is wrought by salva- 
tion. The dirt is removed, not covered up. 

But now the pure white paper must have only 
the best thoughts upon it. Christ's thoughts, 
and those helpful to humanity and worthy to be 
preserved. Copy closely after the top line. 
Do not imitate your own, but look every time 
at the heading, which, in Christian life, is Jesus ; 
otherwise, you may copy a mistake made in 
your first line down to the bottom. Few peo- 
ple can write straight without lines. You need 
lines of help from church, Sunday-school, public 
school and home. Write on these lines so 
straight. 

Look through this white paper and see the 
" water " lines. This tells who made it from 
filthy rags. So your life will tell of Christ. 



BUILDING THE LIGHTHOUSE. 

WITH brown crayon represent rocks, with 
light color sand. Upon which shall we 
build our lighthouse ? (Draw, if you can, ocean 
with great waves to left of rocks and sand.) 
Now, with eraser brush away place upon the 
rocks for our lighthouse. So we dig a deep 
foundation by repentance and faith. Then draw 
great stones little by little, to proper height. 
(Follow a faint outline so that it will be shapely 
and perpendicular when complete.) 

With bright red chalk draw lamp and red 
rays of warning. Here below are the angry 
waves dashing the careless, the sinful of the 
world. Oh ! warn them of their peril, of the 
Judgment Day. 

Stories of imperiled vessels, narrow escapes 
from shipwreck through lighthouses ought to 
be used. 

Have a beautiful face of a child cut from 
175 



I76 BUILDING THE LIGHTHOUSE. 

some chromo large enough to cover the red lan- 
tern, and pin it right over it on top of light- 
house building. This is our lighthouse warning 
and inviting, both. Give an anecdote or two 
of child saving father or mother. Apply points 
of lesson : foundation, repentance and faith ; 
building, character to be well cemented by love, 
and to be plumb and strong. For there are 
terrible storms that beat upon it, and if it falls 
many others may be lost with it. The strains 
of business life are like the storms which twice 
destroyed the Eddystone lighthouse, but a 
builder, Smeaton, was found who erected it in a 
new and wonderful way, so that it has stood 
over one hundred years. So can Christ help 
you to build a character that will stand every 
storm of business and sinful pleasure. Even 
while storms are raging, as in the case of the 
Minot's Ledge lighthouse, you can keep right 
on through all difficulties, completing your 
lighthouse. 



THAT WONDERFUL WIRE, FAITH. 




DRAW a heart, about eight inches wide, on 
extreme right of blackboard. A hand 
with open palm resting on top of an upright 
cross, the hand reaching out from the heart, but 
some distance away, and about the center of the 
board. Connect hand and heart with heavy 
twisted wire spread into five strands in the 
heart ; one, with bright rays of light flashing ; 
the second, power (printed) ; the third, peace ; 
the fourth, healing ; the fifth, cleansing. This 
177 



I78 THAT WONDERFUL WIRE, FAITH. 

wire runs into palm of hand, and there spreads 
a strand along each finger. The thumb and 
little finger strands run up beyond the clouds, 
(print Jesus there ) ; the fore and long fingers to 
very bright light near by, the Holy Spirit ; and 
the ring finger runs out into the Bible. Along 
this wire of Faith come the blessings you see in 
the heart. By way of the cross of Jesus they 
must come. Peace and healing come from 
Jesus. He uses one wire as a telephone and 
speaks peace to our hearts. He uses another 
wire as a healing agent ; just as doctors use 
electricity to heal, so he by our faith heals us 
from sin and disease. Two wires connect us 
with the Holy Spirit. One transmits power, 
the other, as shown in mining operations, sepa- 
rates the pure gold from the dross. One wire is 
an electric light from the Bible, as read with 
the Spirit in our hearts. What a wonderful wire 
of faith ! How it connects us with light, peace, 
power, cleansing and healing. Let us have 
non-conductors in contact with the world, so 
that none of these blessings be lost to us. But 
let us be in uninterrupted current with many 
hearts to share them, and connect many with 
the great wire. 



HOW TO MAKE IT RAIN. 



llii 



i'im 




WE want to describe an old and sure way 
of making it rain. You know of Gen- 
eral Dyrenfurth's experiments in Texas and 
elsewhere, and of other experiments. In Mal- 
achi iii. 10 is our plan. Read it. Read also 
Second Corinthians, eighth and ninth chapters. 
Draw on top of blackboard in heavy white, 
the clouds ; on the left, rain pouring down 
(white, straight, broken lines, chalked over with 
light blue). On the right are several balloons 
179 



ISO HOW TO MAKE IT RAxN. 

drawn, round white balls with network of cords, 
ending with a heart as the basket. Tack a 
purse to the board and draw lines below to 
heart. Put two little tacks half-inch apart near 
top of each balloon. These will hold silver dol- 
lars, half-dollars, quarters, etc. Here is a little 
balloon for the widow's mite. Stand back, you 
rich men, you men earning comfortable livings, 
don't crowd on that balloon. That is only for 
the widow. 

Here is a balloon yet anchored to the ground 
by mean stinginess and selfish pleasures. 

Now, put money in our balloons for God's 
good causes. Here is a dollar for this. A five 
dollar bill there (pin on). Here is the child's 
fifty cents, or quarter. That baby brother's 
five cents. Put it on that highest balloon to 
get to Jesus first. Here is a full purse for good 
causes ; notes, silver and gold must be in it. It 
is a very liberal man's offering. 

Now, the blessings pour down from God just 
as he promised. It does not rain " pitchforks," 
but other P's — prosperity, power, plenty, peace. 

This is not a new and doubtful experiment. 
It is very old and never fails. Let every boy 
and girl become a generous giver to every good 
cause. Don't be stingy, or a grumbling giver. 
"God loveth a cheerful giver." 



THE DEMON HAND OF INTEMPER- 
ANCE. 

CUT out of dark brown cardboard an im- 
mense open hand. Old paper boxes will 
do for material. Make the hand three or four 
feet high if possible. Fingers to be an inch 
longer than good proportion, and then cut off 
close to palm of the hand. Sew strip of card- 
board over the knuckles so that the fingers may 
be put into place and easily removed. Have a 
similar device for the thumb. Sew easel rest 
back of " Hand " so that it will stand, or tack 
it on the blackboard and draw great beer vat 
out of which it is coming. 

This little finger which I hold up represents 
the financial waste of strong drink — the money 
which is spent for it. Twice as much as for 
bread, or for shoes. What we give for educa- 
tion is merely a trifle compared to it, and what* 
we give for missions is shameful to think of, it 



1 82 DEMON HAND OF INTEMPERANCE. 

is so small. The indirect waste is just as great. 
But this is only the little finger of the dark 
hand. 

The ring finger of the Demon represents the 
wrongs to wife and children, to home, to society. 
How many homes are darkened, desolated, 
robbed of their boys and girls by strong drink. 
How sad. 

The long finger stands for the harm done to 
mind. Alcohol goes right to the brain and 
crazes men. Many great men like Shakespeare, 
Burns, Webster, Poe, Alexander the Great, 
Belshazzar and many others have died prema- 
turely. Who can measure this terrible loss ? 

The forefinger points to the harm done to 
the bodies of drunkards. Many diseases are 
caused or aggravated by it, bloated faces, 
trembling nerves, early deaths. 

The thumb stands for the saddest of all — 
the moral and spiritual injury by strong drink. 
The blasting of good names, the ruin of char- 
acter, the loss of the soul forever. 

What a terrible Demon Hand is reaching out 
to capture our boys. Here is a great white 
hand of total abstinence to fight it. Now lend 
your hands and hearts for the battle. Use the 
sword of Prohibition and cut it off right at the 
wrist. 



THREE STRANGE PREACHERS TO 
PETER. 






THREE great lessons were taught to Peter 
by strange objects. Let us also learn 
them. (Print on blackboard " Fish-net," on left 
end. Get little bracket and tack to middle of 
board ; on this a little toy rooster is to be put ; 
on right end of board have tack near top over 
which to let down handkerchief full of " un- 
clean " animals, from toy Noah's ark.) 

Now, the lesson of the fish-net. Peter had 
cast it into the sea, again and again, all night, 
183 



184 THREE STRANGE PREACHERS TO PETER. 

and caught nothing. This is working alone 
without God. But now Jesus is with him, and 
tells him to cast again. Behold, a net full! 
This is working with God just according to 
Christ's word. Here is success, power, plenty. 
So let us in everything ask help and direction 
of Jesus. 

Now, put rooster on little bracket. Peter 
had gone astray, had denied that he belonged 
to Jesus. O, weak and wicked Peter ! But 
listen, a cock crows ! How it sounds through 
the judgment hall of the High Priest. It brings 
Peter to feel his sin. So God often uses strange 
means to bring men back to himself. " Dan'l 
Quorm " tells of an old clock which convicted 
him. A little child learned to thank God be- 
cause the chickens always looked up at every 
swallow of water they took. 

The third object lesson to Peter was a sheet 
full of unclean animals. He was very hungry 
and was told to eat them. But Peter was 
particular in his tastes and would not. God 
told him three times, and thus taught him not 
to think himself too good to help the Gentiles, 
the heathen, the wicked people around him. 
We must not be proud or too particularly 
afraid to soil our hands or clothes to help 
people. 



SOLID SHOT AND CARTRIDGE BOX. 

Memorial Day Sermon. 

I USED Gettysburg relics, kindly furnished 
by a friend, a solid cannon ball and an old 
cartridge box. Get large American flag to set 
in conspicuous place. 

What is a solid shot in the battle against sin ? 
A pure and earnest Christian life. See how it 
carries everything before it. No argument 
stands against it, no excuse is sustained by it. 
Right into the sinner's heart it carries the 
Gospel. 

Another solid shot is the prayer of strong 
faith. Elijah's prayer was a solid shot when he 
contended on Mount Carmel. How powerful it 
is, and what tremendous inroads upon evil it 
makes. 

Character is the cannon to fire these solid 
shots. It may require a long time to get it 
185 



1 86 SOLID SHOT AND CARTRIDGE BOX. 

thoroughly ready and in position. Iron ore 
must be dug out, crushed, smelted, molded, 
hammered, bored, tested. (Show analogy of 
character development.) But at last our can- 
non is in position, as at last the Christian char- 
acter has gained a great influence. And now 
a few shots make up for the long previous work 
and patient preparation. 

The cartridge box also is full of lessons. 
What are some of them ? The cartridge box 
is memory stored with truths of the Bible ready 
for instant use. Have a great many " rounds " 
in it all the time or you may be surprised and 
captured by the enemy. What wonderful verses 
there are for every need of the Christian life. 
What promises. What sharp goads for con- 
science and irresistible logic for the caviler. 
Many people know so little of Bible truth as 
not even to have come to an idea of its inex- 
haustible treasure house. 



HOW TO HIT THE GREATEST 
HAPPINESS. 



Qer-pr^ Happiness 



■ J - .T 





DRAW target for bow and arrows on left 
end of blackboard, facing a little to the 
right. Make of three circles, one inclosing 
another. Put bull's-eye or center of mark in 
the inner circle, and points to aim at directly 
above in the other circles. Draw bow and 
arrows on board to the right. 

Now, boys and girls, you want to hit the 
greatest happiness in the world, do you ? Well, 
that desire is somewhat selfish. I would rather 
187 



1 88 HOW TO HIT THE GREATEST HAPPINESS. 

have you want to be the most useful, or the 
best character possible. But we will not find 
fault with you now ; we will show you the only 
way to hit the bull's-eye of greatest happiness. 

Take your bow and arrows and aim directly 
to this center of getting the most happiness in 
life. Aim right at it, and not an inch above, 
and when you shoot your arrow will stick far 
below. No one gets real happiness who is all 
the time bending every energy only for happi- 
ness. Your arrow strikes far below. The self- 
seeker is never thoroughly happy. (Illustrate 
from history and daily life.) 

But now aim for that point just above, " Doing 
some good without Christ." It is not high 
enough, but cover it carefully and shoot. See, 
your arrow is inside the inner circle, but still 
far from the center. Doing good even a little 
brings joy. " It is more blessed to give than 
to receive." 

There is, however, a point still higher, which 
includes doing the most good, and that is 
" Being good." To be saved from our sins and 
selfishness ; to be made pure and loving. Aim 
for that now. (Change bow into heart by draw- 
ing string down to a point, or using upper out- 
line of bow for upper outline of heart, and 
completing properly.) Make the effort with 



HOW TO HIT THE GREATEST HAPPINESS. 1 89 

Christ's love in your heart, and you are useful 
also, and get the greatest happiness into the 
bargain. The way to get perfect happiness is 
to aim far above it, and to be good and loving, 
as Christ can help us to be. So your mother, 
who is doing most for everybody in the house, 
is the happiest of all. So the child, pure, affec- 
tionate, helpful, is always singing for joy, while 
the grasping, selfish child is sour-faced, fretful, 
miserable. Be good and you will be happiest. 



THE MANLY BOY AND THE PUTTY 
BOY. 

A Rightly Cultivated Will. 

GET some soft putty and a beautiful boy 
doll that can stand. Shape the putty 
into a boy as nearly like the doll as you can. 
Now hold out the putty boy. See him bend 
every way. No backbone ; no strength to hold 
out his hands; letting his head drop; knees 
quaking. It is amusing to see him bend and 
bow. How well he pictures a boy or girl easily 
led astray. What a poor fellow is this bending, 
bowing, boneless boy. He will drink beer if 
some one asks him strongly. He will steal if 
he is in company with thieves. And how easily 
he is frightened into lying or meanness. 

But see a strong-willed boy — this manly, 
beautiful little fellow. He holds up his head ; 
he is not afraid of bad boys' laughter. He will 
190 



THE MANLY BOY AND THE PUTTY BOY. I9I 

do right at all costs. He has a will which is 
determined to obey God. People call him 
stubborn, but he is conscientious in everything. 

See his backbone. No bending to any evil ; 
no cringing to any sinful power : no attention 
paid to evil threats, no bribing of him. 

He has a steady, firm hand, and he takes his 
stand without wavering. 

This boy can bow to bis mother; he prays 
humbly to God ; he can stoop to help the needy, 
but never to anything mean or wicked. 

Now let us see the lines these boys will travel. 
Here is a clear, straight one upward ; here is a 
wavy, zigzag downward. Which boy do you 
like ? Will any one here ever be like a putty 
boy ? 



LET ME FEEL YOUR PULSE. 




DRAW a heart on left end of blackboard 
and open hand on the right. Connect 
with red line. The doctor puts his finger on 
your wrist to find out whether your heart beats 
regularly. By the artery the line from heart to 
hand is direct. 

Write first in the heart "Feverish." Now 
the heart beats too fast. The pulse runs up 
from 70 or 75 to 125, 150. The body is burn- 
ing and being racked to pieces by the fever. 
So evil desires are the soul's fever. When men 
love strong drink, gambling, dancing, money, 
they have a strange fire in their souls and are 
living too fast. How quickly they become old. 
192 



LET ME FEEL YOUR PULSE. I93 

Erase " Feverish " and write "Comatose." 
This means very drowsy or nearly dead. So 
when selfishness and indifference to Christ is 
in the heart, the heart is very slow to move 
and you can hardly feel any pulse. How hard 
to arouse such souls. 

But we want to see a morally healthy, good 
heart. How strong and steady the beat of 
Paul's heart, never feverish, never drowsy. So 
was Daniel's and Joshua's. 

The red line between heart and hand are our 
thoughts and plans. They come out of the 
heart and direct the work of the hand. Let 
them always be pure, wise, loving. 

But the whole system must be saved to have 
good pulse, so the soul must be saved if thoughts, 
plans and outward deeds are to be right. 

Is your spiritual pulse all right ? 



THE CHRISTIAN IN THE ARMY. 




DRAW on the center of the blackboard the 
outline of a file of soldiers facing up- 
ward and in full uniform, with drawn swords. 
To illustrate how the Christian gets into this 
army, get two pieces of paper, color of your 
blackboard if you can, but white will also 
answer, each large enough to cover the soldiers. 
On one of these sheets of paper draw a boy in 
ordinary suit of clothes — barest outline will do, 
facing downward ; on the other draw the same 
boy now facing upward and uniformed, but 
194 



THE CHRISTIAN IN THE ARMY. 1 95 

alone. This latter is to be tacked first over 
the line of soldiers, then the boy in common 
dress on top. 

Now, boys and girls, you see a boy who has 
made up his mind to be a Christian soldier. 
He finds himself facing the wrong way. He 
knows he will have trials and struggles, but 
that is what a soldier life means. He is not 
shrinking from hardships or wounds ; he will 
not dodge nor run. He has come to his pas- 
tor or Sunday-school teacher, the recruiting 
officer of the Lord's army, and asks how to 
enlist. 

"Decide, and sign your name to the roll " — 
which means to accept Jesus, and tell others 
you belong to him. 

Now, " right about face " is the first order. 
So he turns away from sin, and begins to do 
everything right. (Now remove first picture.) 

Here he is facing toward Heaven. He is uni- 
formed now. He has joined the Church, and is 
being drilled in prayer, singing, Bible truth, work 
for Jesus, testimony. (Now remove this, and 
show the line of soldiers.) 

Here he is in the company. Keeping step 
with good people, fighting with them against 
intemperance, Sabbath-breaking, swearing, dis- 
honesty in business, and every other sin. 



I96 THE CHRISTIAN IN THE ARMY. 

He is a fine soldier ; full of courage, so that 
threats nor laughter in the least move him ; 
obedient to orders, fully and promptly. Full 
of enthusiasm, hear him cheer and hurrah for 
the good ! He is strong in faith in his captain 
Jesus, and loves him with all his heart. 



IS YOUR HATCHET NICKED OR 
WELL SHARPENED? 




HAVE two hatchets, if possible, one nicked 
and rusty, the other of bright steel, 
sharp, straight. Look at the nicked one ! It 
never got good temper from the skillful applica- 
tion of the fire ; it never was on the grindstone, 
and has been hacking rocks and nails. So are 
some men and women in their training. They 
never got a proper spirit of zeal, endurance and 
love ; they never were polished by rough trials, 
197 



I98 IS YOUR HATCHET NICKED ? 

nor carefully used. How wretched, how dull 
their souls. 

But here is the other hatchet. The spirit is 
in it, the edge is straight, hard steel. The 
straight edge represents the result of hammer- 
ing, by faithful teachers and parents. The 
grindstone is the Sunday-school, the church 
and the public schools. 

Now with the good hatchet you can cut away 
the thick underbrush of selfishness and the 
tough trees of great sins. Cut them, root and 
branch, with the good hatchet. 

But you must not employ trained powers of 
mind upon sinful pleasures or dishonest busi- 
ness. That is hacking at stones and nails. 

Be careful of the rust of idleness. Be always 
busy with something good. Your hatchet laid 
away, will soon be covered with rust spots. 

Keep near to a good grindstone. You need 
constantly to sharpen up. By faithful study, 
by regular attendance upon church and Sabbath- 
school, by prayer in secret, and family altar, 
you will always have keen edge, and no growth 
of evil can stand in your way. 

How sad that any bright boys and girls should 
become nicked, dull, rusty old hatchets, good 
for nothing; but old iron ! 



THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER. 

THIS is a sermon for children, which, if 
thoroughly prepared, makes a life-long 
impression. Take a beautiful doll that will 
stand, or fix wire support about its body and 
down its legs, terminating under each foot, in a 
frame, like the Indian snowshoe, as my friend 
Mr. Fisher arranged one for me. She stood 
erect and graceful as a model soldier. Con- 
struct armor to fit her, after pictures in Bible 
Dictionary. A helmet of stiff paper experi- 
mented with until you get the right shape, then 
sew together and cover with bright silver paper. 
Paste red letters spelling " Salvation " on its 
front. A breastplate to fit on the breast closely 
about the neck and arms, also covered with sil- 
ver paper, and " Righteousness " on it. A 
girdle or belt with " Truth " on it. A shield 
covered with gilt, and word " Faith " in bright 
red letters. Fasten rubber band on center 
199 



200 THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER. 

(back) by pasting it on, and another at edge, 
so that your soldier can hold it on left arm. 
A small broadsword covered with gilt and held 
to her right hand by rubber bands. Begin with 
doll not in armor, but have everything ready 
to put on while you speak. 

Boys and girls, we are to see a Christian sol- 
dier to-day. Here she is ! The boys laugh, do 
they, at the idea of a girl being a soldier ? But 
let me tell you that no one is braver than a 
gentle, loving mother, and many girls have 
shown that they can suffer for the right, like 
heroes. And girls may be soldiers for Christ, 
as well as boys. I am not afraid they will be 
cowardly or slow to charge. 

But the soldier has an armor provided for her. 
We are told of it in a letter Paul once wrote 
to Ephesus (Ephesians vi. 14-17). Here is the 
breastplate (fasten with rubber bands). This is 
" Righteousness," or being converted and 
made good all through. This will protect our 
soldier when Satan casts his darts of slanderous 
words, or tries to overcome her by cunning 
temptations to sin. Be good and pure and 
right at all times. 

Next we put on the girdle of " Truth." How 
strong and ready is the man who is sincere and 
true. Our little soldier hates pretensions, or 



THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER. 201 

falsehood, or deceit. Then comes the helmet of 
" Salvation " for the head. God must come to 
protect us, and then we are safe. His grace 
over us, and our eyes are not in danger of being 
blinded by the enemy, nor our hearing injured 
or destroyed, and the delicate brain cannot be 
reached by him. Saved in Jesus, we fight sin 
without danger of being hurt. 

Two pieces of armor for the hands and arms. 
For the left hand and arm the glorious shield of 
Faith. By skillful covering of the whole per- 
son, we are perfectly safe from all fiery darts. 
Believing in Jesus, Ave have wonderful promises 
of overruling and protection from God. Keep 
the shield very bright, so that men may see the 
reflection of Jesus in your faith. 

For the right hand, the Sword of the Spirit, 
or the Word of God. Against everything bad, 
we must use the Bible. Learn its truths, its 
precious verses, so that we can instantly use 
them against all evil. We may become skillful 
in this sword fighting, as soldiers often do, so 
that no one can stand before us. So Jesus 
fought the evil spirit. 

Now, boys, if I had a boy doll, I would put 
the armor on him. And then thus armed, the 
soldier must be brave, obedient, enthusiastic 
and end \i ring-. 



THE WORST WASP'S NEST — THE 
SALOON. 






THE Saloon is a Wasp's Nest in any neigh- 
borhood. It has all the bad traits of the 
sneaking, irritable, thievish, fighting and sting- 
ing wasps, but is far worse in its effects. We 
want to look at it for a while, so that we may 
keep everybody away from the dangerous nests 
until we can get hot water and smoke to destroy 
them. 

(Draw a small circular wasp's nest on the 
left, suspended from above, and a larger one on 



THE WASPS NEST THE SALOON. 203 

the right. In the middle, draw plan of your 
town or city, or part of it like gridiron, and lo- 
cate saloons on it as wasps' nests on the streets.) 

Here are the nests ! We have two thousand 
of them in Philadelphia, besides many traveling 
in bottlers' wagons. They have each many cells 
in which wasps are being grown and nursed, 
drunkards made. See how black-spotted our 
city or town is ! Looks as if it had the measles 
or small-pox. It is spotted with wasps' nests. 

The wasp is thievish. She makes no honey 
herself, but takes the hard earnings and work of 
others, even if she must kill them to get the 
treasure. Wasps kill the bees and steal their 
honey. 

The wasp is very irritable. If you touch her 
she will sting furiously, and how poisonous her 
sting is ! So strong drink makes people cross, 
quick in passion, brutal and quarrelsome. How 
many dear children have been abused, and wives 
beaten and murdered, by these human, furious 
wasps. 

The wasp is mean and sneaking. In the cold 
of autumn she slyly crawls into your window, 
and when you happen to touch her, she stings 
you. So the liquor seller, having a home in 
this good land, repays the kindness by stinging 
and destroying. 



204 THE WASP S NEST — THE SALOON. 

The wasp becomes utterly selfish, fights every- 
thing good that opposes her, or which she thinks 
opposes her. The Saloon is Ishmael — with 
a hand against everybody. (One nest by draw- 
ing lines down may be changed into rum bottle, 
the other into beer jug.) 

Hot water will destroy the natural wasp's 
nest, but cold water destroys the saloon. A 
slow fire with suffocating smoke kills the wasps, 
but it takes a hot fire with a great blaze to an- 
nihilate the saloons. Let it begin to burn. 
Help to stir it up, boys and girls. 





SHOW ME YOUR TONGUE! 



LanIdlrouS 

X<N<JINQ 

Aucy 

COLDiNq 

CURRILOUS 

PireruL 

LY 

URLy 
W£AR1N<J 
yCOPttANT 



THIS is the doctor's question. Let it be 
also the Sunday-school teacher's and the 
preacher's. The tongue morally indicates the 
moral and spiritual health. (Draw tongue, and 
then in barest outline of suggestion, chin under 
it, with neck and bust. This on left of board. 
On right, huge reptile, like immense letter S.) 
The tongue maybe poisonous like the snake's. 
This is the tempter's tongue, the infidel's, the 
swearer's. 

205 



206 SHOW ME YOUR TONGUE ! 

The tongue may be forked and deadly, like 
the serpent's — slanderous, scurrilous, scoffing, 
spiteful. 

It may be so hard and rough that it tears the 
flesh, like the lion's tongue — sharp, scolding, 
saucy, surly. 

(Illustrate with applications to child life, and 
observation.) 

It may be coated and impure, like the feverish 
child's — filthy, silly, impure, sycophant, sly. 
(Put all the words using vS for initial, after the 
huge serpent.) 

How can it be healed or changed ? Only by 
getting spiritually well, by a change of heart, 
for " out of the heart the mouth speaketh." 
(Put beautiful, sweet child face cut out of pict- 
ure chromo, large enough to fit outline of bust, 
on the board. Draw heart in outline of bust, 
and write Love in it.) Now, we have a tamed, 
purified good tongue. Then the reptile must 
leave (erase great 5 and all with it), and the 
tongue becomes pure, peaceable, gentle, teach- 
able, forgiving, useful, steady, sincere. (James 
iii. 17.) 

The old notion, that for every lie you tell 
there comes a pimple on the tongue, is not true. 
But there comes a worse spot in the heart, for 
every sin of the tongue. Let us ask Jesus to 



SHOW ME YOUR TONGUE ! 207 

save us from everything in the heart which 
would poison or corrupt our speaking. 

The teacher may divide this lesson into sev- 
eral, or select the points he regards as most 
timely and important. But the activity of the 
child mind will admit many points merely sug- 
gested, while others are dwelt upon. 



SEEDS. 



v \»j""% 





~ML(i 



DRAW on the blackboard at one end a Ca- 
nadian thistle or the ordinary field thistle, 
with sharp-pointed leaves, thorny burr, white 
fleecy top ; at other end, some wheat stalks 
with full heads meekly hanging down. It will 
add to the effect if you can get a thistle stalk 
and a small sheaf of wheat. Then use both ob- 
jects and blackboard, or dispense with black- 
board. Or, fasten the thistle and the wheat to 
an appropriate design on the board. 

The Canadian thistle represents the evil 
208 



SEEDS. 209 

which a bad life causes. It is deceptive with 
beautiful fleece on top, but this fleece makes it 
the more harmful, for it is wings to the seed 
which is now ripe. The thorny burr separates, 
and the wind catches the light, deceptive fleece 
and carries the seed with it, far and wide over 
the field. 

Look out for the deceitfulness of sin. It 
may appear smart or attractive, but flee from it. 
It is the fleece which carries the evil the farther 
into your heart. The Canadian thistle is very 
hard, but not impossible to kill. But one man, 
single-handed, should not attempt to destroy it. 
Sin is such a thistle. Let the boy or girl call 
in Jesus to help dig it out and kill it. 

The thistle has terrible roots. Every little 
thread-like root grows into a new plant, and all 
must be carefully dug out. So with roots of 
selfishness, pride, evil desire. Ask Jesus to 
take all out. Farmers submerge the plants and 
roots in strong salt, and this kills them. So 
will the salt of Divine truth destroy all evil 
thoughts and desires. 

A good life is full of wheat grains. How 
wonderfully they produce great fields of rich 
food. Such grains of wheat are good words, 
good influences and examples. They reproduce 
themselves a hundred times. 



2IO SEEDS. 

Which are you — thistle or wheat ? 

The Thistle is T — troublesome, H — harm- 
ful, / — incorrigible, >S — spreading, T — thorny, 
L — lost, E — eternally. 

The Wheat stands for hearts, W — wise, 
H — happy, E — earnest, A — affectionate, T 
— trustworthy. 

Oh ! the good these hearts do among men. 



TOPICS FOR ORIGINAL WORK. 

1. The Bee Line, and the Serpent Line of 
Life. 

2. How the Apples rot down in the Barrel. 

3. Tekel — The Lord Weighing our Work for 
the Year — A New Year's Sermon. 

4. The Bible a Looking Glass. 

5. The Book of One Human Life. 

6. "The Hive of B's." 

Construct Hive out of a piece of brown card- 
board. Reversing it with a little change upside 
down, the cardboard forms a heart. See list of 
B's elsewhere. 

7. Flowers for the Heart Garden — lily, rose, 
forget-me-not, violet, morning-glory. 

8. Great Heart, holding everything good ; 
shriveled heart, narrowing until it only contains 
elongated I. 

9. The Cable which pulls all the Cars. 

10. A Soul on Fire ! Sound the Alarm ! 



212 TOPICS FOR ORIGINAL WORK. 

ii. What John learned from his Horse : how 
to be spirited, strong and obedient. 

12. Has the Sun of Righteousness Risen in 
your Heart ? 

13. Some Hardships for Little Soldiers. 

14. Digging out the Deeper Rootlets. 

15. The Home we Fly to when our Season 
is over — a Lesson the Swallows taught Mary. 

. 16. A Five-pointed Bible Star — Faith of 
Abraham, Courage of Joshua, Steadfastness of 
Daniel, Love of John, Activity of Paul. 

17. Before and after taking the Beer. 

18. "Don't feed the Fish," but catch them. 

19. A Weed to keep out — Tobacco. 

20. Put the Best Dress on your Mind and 
Soul. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

021 064 170 1 



